


Hidden Origins

by CrystalHeartZyx



Series: Hidden Origins [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII Series
Genre: F/M, Follows Main Story, Hope/Vanille maybe, I ship my OCs because I can, I suck at writing romance, It develops as I write it, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2020-05-12 19:35:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 48
Words: 292,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19235719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystalHeartZyx/pseuds/CrystalHeartZyx
Summary: Rei and Shu are lost, wandering Cocoon. The last thing Rei remembers is the War of Transgression. Shu's been looking for her ever since, or so they think. Assuming everyone she knew is gone, Rei tries to settle into a life in Bodhum, with the help of a man named Sai. As the Purge begins and Sai is taken, she must confront her past and her hated origins once more. Follows main story





	1. Welcome to the Purge

**Author's Note:**

> Got into a Final Fantasy XIII mood. Yippee!
> 
> Warning: This probably needs a lot of editing.
> 
> Nope, don't own the game. Well, I own a copy of the game, but not all the copyright stuff, etc. You know the drill. Just own my OC's and their storyline.
> 
> Originally posted on Fanfic. I tell myself I've fixed all the spelling and grammar errors, but they always show up anyway

She waited patiently on the train. Her hands were shackled though she knew they couldn't hold her. She wore a white robe matching everyone else on the train with a hood over her head. A soldier walked through a door and began looking at people suspiciously. Unlike the despairing people around her, she had a goal and was focused, like the women to her right.

"You serious?" The man two people to her right asked in a hushed tone.

"Be quiet," The woman to her right between Rei and the man hissed.

"Hump. Best of luck."

Rei taped her finger, counting the beats and right on cue a crash took place. The woman to her right instantly jumped up, charged at the soldier, jumped into a flip and used her cuffed wrists to snap the soldier's neck, and landing on her feet swiftly. As the soldier fell, a device went sliding across the floor before the woman promptly stomped on it, releasing all of the handcuffs for the people on the train.

"She did it!" The man from before exclaimed.

While everyone was in shock taking in the situation, Rei calmly stood up and removed her robe, happy to be free of the dead weight and casually joined the woman in taking back the train. The two had never worked together before, however, they moved without a word shared between them, both holding experience beyond anyone else on the train.

The door opened and two more soldiers ran through.

"Freeze!" One shouted before they instantly tried to fire on the women, but the first woman jumped up, ditching her robe in the process as they fired at it, and jumped above their attacks, landing in front of them - revealing a pink-haired soldier.

They were temporarily caught off guard from seeing her skill and she blitz kicked the first one in the head, instantly taking him out. Rei grabbed the gun from the second one, spinning to whack him in the head, knocking him out.

The two women ran through to the next room, Rei firing the gun forward to draw the soldiers out. The first unfortunate soul ran out and attempted to open fire, only to be met with a kick to the face from the pink-haired woman. The second soldier was farther down the car, too far for her to charge at before she would get shot, but Rei instantly had her gun aimed forward, opening fire before he could even raise his weapon.

Her new partner snapped her fingers and activated her AMP Grav-Con unit that gave her a temporary anti-gravity field. Rei followed her lead, the two women jumping backwards, flying past each other to smack a soldier into the wall - the Grav-Cons increasing the power of the blows. Then, each turned and pushed herself off the wall, flipping in the air to kick another of the guards back.

Rei tossed a gun to her partner in mid air, and the two opened fire as they spun through the air, skillfully avoiding the other while also taking out every guard in sight.

The man, Sazh had begun rallying up the people that were willing to fight and getting them all armed with guns from one of the weapon cars while the rest of them ran.

"So far, so good," He said running up to the woman, named Lightning, who'd gotten her gunblade back. "They all wanna fight."

Lightning hefted her gun and primed it for battle. "Good for them," She said sarcastically, clearly uninterested in what anyone else was doing.

Rei ran up behind them, having raided the place for her own weapons and now being fully armed again. She stood at the front with Sazh and Lightning, looking out one of the doors. The train exited the tunnel to reveal Hanging Edge, now a full out war zone.

"Incoming," She warned. Not a moment later, the train shook from an electric attack. The source seemed to have been one of numerous mechanical beasts flying through the skies of Hang Edge.

Lightning took a RPG from Sazh with a quick "Give me that," and fired upon some of the attackers before they retaliated with an attack that overturned the second half of the train, causing it to fall down off the tracks.

Down below, some of the rebelling fighters were going against the soldiers that summoned some monsters through transgates.

A scorpion-like monster flew down and landed on their part of the train, the added weight and force of it's landing bringing the train to a stop. It's tail tore through the train, leaving a large hole just in front of Lightning and Rei.

"Run!" Sazh yelled. Lightning and Rei complied, jumping up through the hole to face the robotic monster. "I meant  _away!_ " He yelled before eventually following.

When he finally got up to join them on the roof, Lightning was aiming her sword at the mechanical monster in challenge. Rei drew her own three-foot-long golden sword from it's sheath, spinning it as she took up a fighting stance as well.

The machine seemed to understand the challenge, jumping up and landing in front of them, causing the whole place to rattle and Sazh to scream. Lightning and Rei held their ground but Sazh was crab-walking backwards in fear.

"Hey, hey, hey!" He said backing away. "Let's be rational now!"

It attempted to swipe at Lightning and Rei but they easily back flipped out of the way while Sazh got to his feet.

"They're sending in the big guns now," He noted. "What do we do?"

"Watch and learn," Lightning said.

The monster took its serrated-wheel-claws on its left side and had them spin with electricity as it attacked Lightning who jumped back and then assumed a battle position. The Manasvin Warmech, Rei knew from her memory.

Sazh drew his guns, staying back and out of range of the machine's arms, while Lightning and Rei charged in to attack, jumping out of the way whenever one of the Warmech's claws came their way.

They were able to work together to damage it, but then it jumped back and grabbed onto the sides of the train car and shook it.

"Fall back!" Lightning ordered and they complied, running back to the train car behind them so that the Warmech couldn't shake the car so violently.

"Not so tough now, huh?" Sazh taunted, laughing. The Warmech seemed to take that as a challenge and activated rockets to propel forward with. "Hey, that wasn't like a challenge, now. All right?" He said holding his hands (and his pistols) up as though trying to calm it down.

"How about you try  _not_  provoking the large metal machine trying to kill us, Sazh?" Rei recommended, priming her weapon. "And I don't think gloating is going to help us doing anything but anger it."

The train began to rise and fall in a wavy pattern because of the pushing, allowing the Warmech to shake the train violently. Combined with the shaking, they had to get off the train or risk being thrown down into the abyss below.

Lightning was able to keep her balance as she slid down the train and jumped off with Rei right behind her. Sazh was running as best he could to get off but wasn't doing too well, as he wasn't exactly a gymnast.

"I'm coming!" He called, grunting as he ran down quickly.

"Jump!" Lightning and Rei yelled at the same time. He did his best, but wasn't able to properly land on his feet, falling forward, but his chocobo chick stuck the landing.

"Heads up," Lightning warned casually as Sazh regained his balance and stood.

"This thing…won't give up," He said, catching his breath.

The Manasvin Warmech landed in front of them again and they primed for a fight again. It's body split open to release a large blast of energy, sending the three back. Rei passed out potions, quickly healing up, before charging in again. The Warmech's tail shot out small beams the consistently made it's target flinch, and though it wasn't very damaging, it was getting annoying.

Finally, Rei struck her sword into the side of the Warmech's body, sending sparks flying. The three backed up as the Warmech began to spark and spasm, it's controls most likely shot, and an explosion sent it flying over the side of the train into the dark depths below.

Sazh sighed and fell down saying, "Oh goodness" and "Whew! We did it."

Lightning kneeled down, examining the path below, as more ships flew overhead. She stood again and sheathed her gunblade, Rei sheathing her sword into the sheath at her hip as well.

She wore a battle uniform with a skirt that went down to her knees and leather straps wrapped around her upper arms. She had purple colored fabric, with golden armor on her shoulders, chest, and her skirt had armor falling over in vertical strips like the classic Roman warrior you'd see in books, along with a purple cape that symbolized she was some kind of leader or general, a belt holding a bag at her right hip, her two handguns at the back, and her long gold sword with a royal purple ribbon wrapped around the hilt at her left hip. On her wrists were two cuffs, matching her armor Wonder-Woman style, along with fingerless gloves that covered her hands. She had tight silver-gray combat boots that looked similar to Lightning's, and overall, she was a pure warrior.

"Looks like there's only one way forward," She said, motioning to the only path below the crashed train that way available to them.

The two women began walking away, ready for more, when Sazh stopped them.

"Aren't you supposed to protect civilians, Soldier? I mean you are Sanctum, aren't you?" He stood back on his feet. "What're you doing trying to stop the Purge? Why don't you tell me that?"

"I  _was_  a soldier," Lightning corrected before jumping off the train down to the path.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?!" He called, but she was already gone. He sighed and turned to Rei. "And you? You clearly have skill like her. You Sanctum?"

"No, far from it," She said. "As for my reasons, I'm here because I have a vow. I intend to keep it, no matter what." She jumped off the train to the walkway below.

Sazh sighed as the chocobo chick flew out of his afro and landed on his hand.

"Chocobo, we just can't catch a break, can we?" He asked. It squeaked in reply and flew up.

"Yeah that's a good question," He sighed. "Oh well, better follow 'em." He grunted as he began climbing down the train. "I'm getting too old for this…"

They followed the pathway, encountering some soldiers and their Pantherons. Rei knew facts about Lightning, but fighting with her in real life was a whole other level. Lightning was a worthy ally in many ways and would hopefully become a friend in the future. She was like Rei in many ways and maybe that was the main reason Rei liked her. Rei proved she was tough in battle, but she knew that in this world magic was a touchy thing so she kept it on the down low.

After they'd made good progress, the path in front of them was suddenly struck down as a passing ship crashed into it. Rei pulled Lightning back just in time, the section merely a couple feet in front of them dipping down into the chasm. They were lucky, as the other side of the bridge was completely collapsing for a good twenty feet from where the blast had taken place, a good number of people screaming as they slid down the falling bridge. Any who had managed to hold on to the sides ended up falling with the rest of the bridge when it disconnected from the rest of it and plummeted into the darkness below.

Sazh fell back from the winds caused by the explosion, and even Lightning and Rei had to hold their arms up to block the smoke blowing at them. When the smoke cleared, the large chasm was revealed.

"Do we turn back?" Sazh asked.

"There's no time," Lightning declared.

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

"Quiet!" She demanded, walking forward to the edge of the gap.

Assessing the length of the bridge that was gone, Lightning snapped her Grav-Com to life and began floating.

"Hey, hey!" Seeing her plan, Sazh immediately ran up and grabbed onto her. "Wait! No, no, don't leave me!"

"Let go!" Lightning ordered, fighting to get him to release her.

"Hell no! You're my only way out of here!"

She finally had to resort to kicking and slapping him to the ground. She snapped her Grav-Con, but by then her charge was gone, and she'd have to wait for it to recharge before she could use it again. Lightning cursed under her breath before looking around for another path.

"Hey, that might get us across," Rei said, pointing.

Coming their way was one of the ships that was used for sending out some of the mechanical monsters. Basically, it looked like a miniature runway with jets. On either side extending two long platforms, and in the center was a roofed section that held some artillery as well as the controls to fly it around.

"Looks that way," Lightning agreed. It wasn't exactly what she had planned, but it would work.

She and Rei walked back the way they came to head over to a platform that would reach over to the machine, Sazh following behind and holding his arm where she'd struck him.

Activating the platform to hover down to the ship, they jumped onto the runway and walked into the main section. At the controls was a PSICOM Marauder, along with two PSICOM Enforcers.

"Deportees, are we?" The Marauder asked, turning from the controls as he noticed them. "Weapons down. I'd hate for this to turn ugly." He held up his fighting staff as the poles extended, walking forward.

"Uh…'turn ugly'?" Sazh asked.

Lightning drew her gunblade and stepped forward. "He wants to kill us without a fight," She explained.

Sazh grabbed his pistols and took up a fighting stance, joining her.

"Time's up!" The Marauder shouted, beginning to hover and then shooting forward to attack Lightning.

Rei drew her sword and intercepted the attack, knocking the Marauder back. He slid across the deck, before then taking a defensive stance and beginning Charging Manadrive - something that the PSICOM military used in place of magic. Soldiers like Marauders had special kinds of Manadrives, ones that could perform multiple spells at once - impressive for technology, but nothing compared to what a  _real_  magic caster could do.

Meanwhile, the other PSICOM Enforcers ran up to attack, but they didn't hit very hard, and weren't as skilled as neither Lightning nor Rei when it came to battle prowess. The ladies each sliced down an Enforcer within seconds, before joining Sazh in attacking the Marauder.

Together, their attacks built up a stagger, causing the Marauder to glow golden just as he unleashed his Manadrive. The only spell he got out was the thunder spell, which Rei easily blocked with her cuff, and then the stagger took hold of the Marauder, causing him to be extremely prone to attacks. The three of them all attacking at once didn't allow him any time to recover and get in even one attack, and within seconds, the menacing Marauder was defeated.

With all the security on the ship gone, the three were free to walk into the main section and work the controls.

"So, Soldier…" Sazh began as they walked in. "What's your angle?"

Lightning stayed silent and Rei knew that the question wasn't directed at her since "Soldier" was Sazh's nickname for Lightning.

"What? Is it classified military info?" He asked, tapping the controls. "What's the matter? You quit, didn't you?" He turned towards her. "You think I'm gonna go out there and just tell everybody your secret?"

"The Pulse fal'Cie," She interrupted at his last word. He looked at her in shock as she turned to him, dead serious. "My 'angle.' I'm after the fal'Cie."

Rei looked down, a bit uneasy with the topic, before turning to the controls and touching a few buttons. Lightning joined her, pulling out a handle and moving it down in the Z-shaped slot to activate the thrusters.

"Still happy you tagged along?" Lightning asked, walking away without his answer.

"Didn't have a choice," He mumbled quietly to himself which Rei heard.

"Going there too?" She asked.

"Yeah," He muttered in reply.

"Well, you stumbled across the right pair of soldiers."

"Why are you going?"

"Same reason as her," She said, nodding towards Lightning, who had walked over and was studying the scene below. "Well, sort of."

With that, she joined Lightning out further on the deck, looking at the war below as they passed. She already knew Sazh's reasons for going. All three of them, in one way or another, were going to the fal'Cie for someone else. As she looked down over the battle field of Hanging Edge, she saw the rebels fighting and more standing in fear in safe places.

Sazh joined them, watching as ships flew by striking at civilians.

"It's an out-and-out massacre," He said. "Those people won't even live long enough to die on Pulse."

"That was probably the idea," Rei said.

Sazh looked to her, surprise laced throughout his tone and face. "What?"

"Sanctum logic," Lightning agreed. "They conjured up the Purge to eliminate a threat."

"Why carry the danger all the way to Pulse?" Rei asked. "Why not just stamp it out here?"

"Execution masquerading as exile. That's all the Purge ever was."

Sazh sighed. "'Relocation to Pulse.' How does a government get away with pulling crap like that? And you?" He turned to the two of them. "You know this was gonna happen?"

"Relocation to Pulse sounded too…easy," Rei admitted. "I mean, it's not like Cocoon has some kind of base on Pulse where the people would live or anything. They're practically throwing all these people to the wolves by sending them to the big bad enemy land."

"The Purge was PSICOM," Lightning said. "Private Sanctum troops, not the Guardian Corps."

"PSICOM, Guardian Corp…" Sazh muttered. "Soldiers are soldiers, aren't they? Pulse fal'Cie, and their l'Cie, are enemies of the state."

Rei took a deep breath, trying to keep her heartbeat under control.

"Tell a soldier to kill an enemy, and you really think it's gonna matter what uniform he's wearing?" Sazh continued.

"Might've mattered to that one," Lightning said, referring to one of the Enforcers, whose dead body was still lying where he'd been struck down. "Couldn't shoot, got himself shot instead."

"How about you?" Sazh asked. "Hm? Orders say shoot, you pull the trigger?"

Neither person gave an answer.

"Fine. Forget I asked."

The ship suddenly began to slow down, bringing the craft to a halt, and the three looked around just in time to see a Myrmidon come flying in. They all drew their weapons, attacking the monster.

It was remarkably agile, moving to strike Sazh with it's electric arm. Lightning struck it, forcing it to retreat back again, but as the two women charged at it, the mechanical bird had already recovered enough to move forward and swing at the two of them.

It jumped back, but only a second later, in jumped forward again and attacked once more. Sazh began his firing at it, forcing it to jump back and take the defensive again, and that allowed the girls to recover enough to get in their attacks.

They staggered their strikes, not giving the monster a chance to retaliate, and eventually, they were able to stagger it, the electronic monster glowing gold and becoming even more prone to attacks. It attempted to fly to attack Sazh once more, but Rei struck it hard and it flinched, unable to complete it's charge. That gave Sazh enough time to start firing again, and the assault continued.

The Myrmidon didn't stand a chance after that, and Rei finished things by jumping forward and stabbing it in the back, her sword coming out of the bird-like automaton's chest. She twisted her sword so that it tore through the core of the machine, and it went limp, sparking and shutting down. She ripped her sword out, and then, using a small bit of her real strength, kicked the hunk of metal off the side of the aircraft's runway.

Not a moment later, they heard an alarm ring out through the Hanging Edge. Up above, three doors that were triangular shaped parted like teeth in a monster's opening jaw, while an announcement rang out over an intercom.

" _Attention Purge deportees. Attention Purge deportees. Put down your weapons and surrender immediately. Your removal is the will of the people of Cocoon. Should you attempt to flee, the Sanctum will employ every resource necessary to bring you to justice. This land is no longer your home. Cease hostilities and surrender at once._ "

Rei scoffed. "Disgusting. They ostracize these people so easily, kicking them out of their homes and treating them like criminals. None of these people did anything wrong, and now suddenly this world isn't their home anymore."

A large machine held up the Vestige containing Anima, the Pulse fal'Cie, guided down by numerous Skytanks.

"Just what you were looking for," Sazh said.

"Yeah, right in there," Lightning replied.

"The Pulse fal'Cie. Huh."

"Almost there," Rei muttered.

She walked over to the controls and diverted their ship to get them as close as possible. Lightning walked over to the edge of the runway and looked down, searching for one of the walkways that would get them to the fal'Cie.

"So, how do you figure that Pulse fal'Cie is different from the Sanctum's?" Sazh asked, his chocobo in his hands. "All things being equal, I'd just as soon keep wondering."

"It's more docile," Rei suggested, walking over to join Lightning. "I mean, it's not like it's doing much except just sitting there. Other than that, a fal'Cie is a fal'Cie. The only real different might be that one is from Cocoon and works to sustain it while the other is from Pulse and works to destroy it. In any case, it's not like the one fal'Cie can just declare war out of the blue. It would instantly be crushed, if the War of Transgression was anything to go by."

Suddenly, Lightning noticed a pathway leading right to the base of the fal'Cie Vestige. She looked to Rei, and she nodded that she saw it too. The path was right beneath them…by over 300 feet, give or take.

Lightning took a few steps back while Sazh was looking at his cute chocobo chick.

"Time to jump," Lightning announced, before running forward and jumping head first.

"Wha-?" Sazh exclaimed. "Hey, hey! Hey, hang on!" He ran to the edge and looked down. "What the-? Hey!"

"Keep up, Sazh," Rei said, before falling after Lightning.

The two women fell head first before each snapping about 50 meters from the ground and activating their Grav-Cons. Only a few seconds later, they flipped in the air to hit the ground on their feet, the Grav-Cons, taking the force of the landings and dispersing them. They each still landed with a thud, but at least there were no bones broken.

"Liking these things more and more," Rei muttered.

Sazh, not being a very bold person (understandable when you were jumping from a 300 to 350 foot drop with no guarantee that your landing is going to be survivable) climbed down the edge of the runway so that his legs hung first and he was still holding on my his arms, before finally letting go - a pointless act, as falling was falling, no matter how you started, but at least he got off the ship before it overshot the path he needed to land on.

Leaving the energy bubbles that the Grav-Cons made to catch Sazh, Lightning and Rei hurried forward. Sazh let out a shout when he hit the bubble, but then eventually realized he was okay and tried to calm his heartbeat enough to get up and hurry after the ladies - the chocobo chick merely flying down.

Behind them, their ship crashed into a building, while the three of them hurried into the Vestige.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, staggering is just a thing that happens in this world. It's pretty important to defeating certain enemies gameplay-wise, so why not incorporate it into the story too?


	2. What Lies in the Vestige

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Just say it! Any l'Cie…anyone who might ever become a l'Cie should be wiped off the face of Cocoon! Anyone or anything everything related to Pulse in the slightest should be destroyed without mercy! The fal'Cie ruin people's lives by branding them! The l'Cie they follow must carry out acts that could put their homes at risk, or end up becoming one of those things! There's no happy ending, nothing but pain that ever comes from Pulse! So we should just wipe them all out, huh?! Every innocent who's just been within 100 meters of the fal'Cie!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm copying most of the chapter notes from Fanfic. Guest reviews over there had to be responded to in-chapter, but I might not do that over here
> 
> I've gone back and edited the first chapter! Yay! And this one is out too. I'm excited about making this story, but as any Final Fantasy XIII player knows, it's gonna be a long one.

They headed in easily enough, encountering a few robotic monsters but nothing they couldn't handle.

Finally they came upon a door with a large, glowing, red Pulse seal. Lightning was whacking it with her sword with little luck, and Sazh got bored and sat down. Rei was quietly standing against the wall with her eyes closed, sensing the fal'Cie Anima. It knew they were coming, and it was letting them.

"Still won't budge?" Sazh asked sarcastically, since the door obviously hadn't changed. He stood up with a grunt. "I think the door's winning."

"Why didn't I listen?" Lightning asked to herself which got Rei to open her eyes.

"Uh, beg your pardon?" Sazh asked.

Lightning put her hand on the door and then removed it.

"It was me," She muttered to herself once more. "This is my fault."

"Beg your pardon?" Sazh asked again.

She turned like she'd just realized he was talking to her.

"Cover your ears," She ordered.

"Huh? Oh, oh, blast charge? Wait, hold on, hold on, hold on." He ran to the other side of the room, ducked down with his hands over his ears. "All right, go for it! Make it happen!"

Lightning didn't look at Rei to cover her ears as well, which Rei was grateful for since she already knew what Lightning was going to say and she didn't want to cover her ears. Lightning put her hand on the door and its symbol glowed slightly to her touch.

"I'm so sorry," She whispered quietly to it. "Please let me in. Please?"

A pole electrocuted above her, and then the symbol glowed and, with a flash, vanished as two poles glowed with electricity as well. The door rumbled open. Sazh got up confused, but he got no answer as the girls walked forward as if they had planned everything. The door rumbled behind them as it closed. Rei knew that couldn't stop her, but she knew she wouldn't need to use her powers in front of the others to escape.

They faced some Pantherons, Zwerg Scandroids, and a Myrmidon or two, but it wasn't a challenge to breeze by them.

"If those things are still around, might be some soldiers trapped in here, too," Sazh commented.

"You mean the PSICOM machines being in the Vestige?" Rei asked, and he nodded. "Why the soldiers, who are so afraid of the big bad fal'Cie, would even dare come in here in the first place is beyond me."

"Yeah. They'd probably be l'Cie by now. Not even human anymore. Just Pulse l'Cie. Enemies of Cocoon. Can't show 'em any mercy."

" _Hang on, baby! Your hero's on the way!_ " A male voice, Snow, suddenly rang out through the Vestige. Rei was slightly annoyed by his confidence. He was brave, but also pretty full of himself. Calls himself a hero, but his hubris is gonna bring him down someday.

"What's gotten into you, Soldier?" Sazh asked as they marched forward. "I thought you came for a fight."

Lightning came to a stop. "My sister…"

"Your sister?"

"She's a l'Cie."

Sazh stepped forward, concern and shock mixing on his face. "What? A  _Pulse_  l'Cie?"

She nodded. "The fal'Cie has her captive. But I'll find her."

"Is she still…?"

Lightning walked forward.

Sazh ran in front of her and stopped her. "What was her Focus? When she became a l'Cie, what did the fal'Cie order her to do? It wasn't 'blow up Cocoon,' or anything like that, was it?"

"I didn't ask," Lightning admitted, like she's just realized it.

They were interrupted by a door with the symbol of Pulse disappearing just up ahead.

"Listen to me. When a person gets curse by a fal'Cie, they become a l'Cie. Then they get given a Focus, right?" He sighed. "How do I put this? If they don't carry it out, l'Cie end up and one of those things."

He nodded his head towards the now open door. On the other side were some Cie'th, specifically, some Ghouls. "What I'm saying is, if your sister's gone that far…" She looked down and away. "I-I mean-! She might still-! How can I-?" He stuttered before sighing. "Oh, man."

"There's no way to turn a l'Cie back into a human," He said grimly. "Even if she completes her Focus, there's no changing her fate. She'll live her life as a fal'Cie slave."

She looked at him with a glare, but hopelessness and realization quickly took over. She gritted her teeth and then looked down.

"Don't make her suffer," He said.

Rei's temper broke and she shoved Sazh back, only barely managing not to punch him square in the jaw.

"Just say it! Any l'Cie…anyone who might ever become a l'Cie should be wiped off the face of Cocoon! Anyone or anything everything  _related_  to Pulse in the  _slightest_  should be destroyed without mercy! The fal'Cie ruin people's lives by branding them! The l'Cie they follow must carry out acts that could put their homes at risk, or end up becoming one of those things! There's no happy ending, nothing but pain that ever comes from Pulse! So we should just wipe them all out, huh?! Every innocent who's just been within 100 meters of the fal'Cie!"

She breathed, trying to keep calm, before beginning to walk away.

"It's people like you that started the Purge in the first place," She spat bitterly.

Lightning followed the angered soldier with her own temper flaring, and Sazh reluctantly followed along, regretting his words, but knowing that they were the truth.

There were a large number of Cie'th now blocking the way, from the shambling Ghouls, the flying Wights, or the bulkier, fire-casting Ghasts.

"Someone stumbled into the wrong place at the wrong time, and all this happens," Sazh muttered.

"Their fault for coming too close to a fal'Cie, I suppose," Rei said. "We're lucky we haven't already met the same fate."

But she knew Anima wanted to brand the numerous residents of the Vestige at the right time, and she couldn't brand Rei or anything.

They walked onto a platform that hovered them up to a staircase. At the top of that set of stairs was a large square area between staircases. In the center of the area was a pink-haired girl, younger than Lightning by maybe three years. Beside her, a boy that looked to be in his early-to-mid twenties was on his knees next to her, leaning against a three-foot long silver sword with a royal purple ribbon tied around and hanging off the hilt, panting. He wasn't in good shape, but Serah looked unscathed and just sleeping.

The moment the boy heard them approaching, his head shot up in fear and he held up his silver sword, but then he saw Rei and relaxed.

Rei walked up to him while Lightning instantly went for Serah. She assessed his injuries and he was about to ask her to heal him and what she was waiting for but she nodded in Lightning and Sazh's direction and he understood that she couldn't heal him there. She took his hand and began slowly and discreetly healing him so that it looked like he had been fine from the get go and she pulled him to his feet. They were too distracted by Serah anyway, but they couldn't be too sure.

"Are you okay, Sai?" She asked him, worry slipping into her tone.

"Good as can be," He muttered. "Didn't make it very far, but I managed to keep Serah safe from harm."

"Serah!" Lightning quickly examined her and picked her up. "Time to go. We have to leave before the army - What?" She saw Sazh staring at Serah.

"That's a Pulse brand," Sazh said. "That girl's a l'Cie."

Rei looked and saw that Serah was in the ninth out of thirteen stages. She had nine arrows, all five bottom ones and four top ones, the eye in the center formed but not opening yet.

"I already told you that," Lightning said defensively.

"Pulse l'Cie are the enemies of Cocoon," He said, his hand reaching for his pistol.

Lightning noticed, and turned defensively. "So they should die?"

"Listen, if she fails her Focus, you know how that'll end."

"And killing her is a mercy?"

She was interrupted by Serah's hand reaching out for her.

She looked down to find Serah was awake. "You came…"

Lightning quickly kneeled to set Serah down again.

"Serah!" Coming from up above on a floating platform, Snow, Hope, and Vanille arrived.

Snow ran forward and kneeled beside Serah, taking her hand. "Serah."

"Is that…my hero?" She whispered. Vanille look at Serah, and you could see a flash of recognition in her eyes. She gasped, but only Rei seemed to notice it.

"Let's get you out of here-" Snow began.

"Hands off. I'm taking her home," Lightning said firmly.

"Sis, I-"

"I'm  _not_  your sister," She interrupted again. "You couldn't protect her. It's your fault she-" Lightning began, but then Serah whispered "You can save us."

"Serah?" Lightning asked.

"You can save us. Protect us all. Save…Cocoon," She said.

"Save Cocoon? Serah that was your Focus?" Lightning asked.

"Anything, I'll do anything," Snow promised. "Leave it to me - you'll see. I'll protect Cocoon! I'll save everyone!"

After giving Snow a look, Lightning promised, "Somehow, I'll make things right."

"You just relax."

She smiled. "Thank you," She whispered.

Then suddenly her skin started glowing a brilliant white-blue color. She rose and hovered in the air above them, her arms sparkling and glowing brighter, the effect shimmering up her arms and encompassing the rest of her body, turning to crystal. Her hands moved together in front of her, as though she was about to clasp her hands together in prayer, but then stopped a couple inches away from each other. Spikes of crystal formed behind her, forming a sort of bed, while a small light fell from the crystallized Serah just before her face transformed to land in Snow's hand, and when it faded, he was holding a brilliant blue crystal in the shape of a tear.

"Serah. Serah!" Snow yelled, jumping up to try and reach her.

"Why is she turning to crystal?" Vanille asked.

"She completed her Focus," Rei said.

"L'Cie who fulfill their Focus are transformed into crystal and gain eternal life," Hope explained.

"Just like the stories say," Sazh said.

"But…what Focus did she complete?" Sai asked.

As Serah's transformation came to completion, her skin now entirely made of crystal and the glow fading, she sank lower to the ground, her bed of crystal hovering just slightly above the floor.

Snow put his hand on Serah's. "Serah…sweet dreams."

"Sweet dreams?" Lightning asked, furiously shoving Sazh out of the way to march up to Snow and grab him by the coat. "She's not sleeping! Serah's…she's…" Lightning couldn't finish, shoving Snow away.

"She's alive," Snow declared.

"No," Lightning declared.

"The legend! Remember the legend! L'Cie who fulfill their Focus turn to crystal and gain eternal life. It's the same with Serah! Eternal life! She's not dead!"

He walked up to Lightning. "Serah's my bride-to-be. I promised to be hers forever! I don't care how many years I have to wait-"

It was then that Lightning punched him hard enough to send his entire six-foot seven figure to the ground.

"It's over!" She yelled. "Open your eyes and face reality!"

"You said so yourself, Snow," Rei said. "Eternal life. Even if Serah is alive, she's going to be a crystal for a long time, much longer than you could possible live for."

The Vestige suddenly began to rumble with tremors. Hope fell to his knees, covering his head with his hands.

"What now?" Vanille yelled over the quake.

"The army!" Sazh guessed.

Large pink wires began shooting through the Vestige at numerous angles, bringing down the structures and causing large parts of the ceiling and walls to break away. More blasts continued to rattle the place, dust and debris falling all around. The pathways below fell apart, and it was a miracle no big chunks of metal came down upon the group.

Snow and Lightning had their bodies protecting Serah's crystal, silently coming to an agreement to protect her. Hope had his hands on his head, trying to keep his balance, while Vanille looked around in shock and confusion.

What's happening?" She asked.

"Must be a Sanctum strike," Sazh said.

"Bring down the Vestige and the fal'Cie right with it!" Sai agreed.

Vanille moved to grab Sazh's arms for balance. "Aren't they taking it back to Pulse? That's what the Purge was, right?"

"All they care about is getting everything from Pulse off Cocoon," Rei yelled. "Dead or alive, it's all the same."

Vanille stepped back in a state of shock, seeming to have thought the Sanctum was merely going to send all the Pulsian things back to Pulse peacefully.

"We can't stay here!" Hope shouted, taking Vanille's hand. "They'll kill us!"

A moment later, the quakes stopped, and everyone looked around trying to see if everything was clear when a door at the end of the hallway glowed with the Pulse brand. The red glow faded from a completed brand to first stage one, and the doors opened.

"That's the way I came from," Sai said. "It leads to the fal'Cie."

Snow kneeled and rested his hand on Serah's. "I'll be right back. Hold on." He then walked past her crystal in the direction of the staircase leading up to the door.

"Trench Coat," Sazh called. "Where you goin'?"

"Date with the fal'Cie," He replied. "Got some things to talk about."

"What? You're gonna ask  _it_  to help her? Are you out of your mind, kid? That thing wants to chew us up and spit us out!"

"Well what do you want me to do?!" Snow yelled.

Sazh didn't have an answer, but Lightning walked past him and began climbing the steps.

"Lightning?" Snow asked, with a smirk on his face before hurrying to catch up. Maybe she finally agreed with him about something.

"Maybe we  _can_  bargain with the fal'Cie?" Rei said with forced optimism. She walked after them, Sai quickly following.

Sazh sighed. "Here we go," He muttered before joining them. Vanille hesitated before

They fought their way through a line of Cie'th, before walking down a dark hallway to the fal'Cie Anima's throne. Floating in the air were small crystal-like sparkles, and as they walked down the dark hallways, Sai took notice of all the inactive machinery making up the place.

"So this is…the fal'Cie," Hope muttered as he looked upon the large, dormant machine at the back of the room.

"Yep," Rei said. "In all it's glory."

"Serah's a crystal now," Snow said to the fal'Cie that wasn't currently active. In turn, it didn't respond. "You gave her a Focus, and she did it! You got what you want! Now let her go!" Nothing still.

He fell to his hands and knees and bowed his head down. "Please. Turn her back!" He raised his head and put his hand to his chest. "I'll be your l'Cie instead!"

When there was still no response, Lightning stepped forward. "Fine, you go on begging." She drew her gunblade and charged. "Like this thing gives a damn what we want!"

She struck the dome over and over to no success. She even hit it hard enough she was sent back from the force bouncing off the ringing metal, everyone exclaiming in surprise.

"Lightning!"

"It's this thing's fault the Purge started, and it's people who are dying. Serah told us to save Cocoon. That means this thing needs to die!"

" ** _He wishes I take away the girl's prize, so desperate to deny her the gift I offered_ _,_** " Rei heard Anima say within her head. " ** _This one claims I am the reason for this Purge, and yet I am here unwillingly. And you, Hotareichan. Will you stand against me if it means gaining their trust? Very well. I shall play my part in this performance. Destroy the floating shell, my friend. Let the mortals of this cursed world pay the price for challenging us!_** "

Suddenly, yellow lights in the floor whirred to life. Everyone moved in surprise, Sazh holding his arm in front of his eyes from the sudden light in the pitch black room. All of the machinery started activating, gears spinning in the floor. Two holes on either side of the fal'Cie's main body released a billow of smoke before the Left and Right Manipulators rose out of the ground.

The dome Lightning had been attacking split open with a flash of bright light and a wave of air that blasted past. When it faded, they all saw the fal'Cie Anima emerge.

"What the-?" Sazh exclaimed.

Vanille and Rei looked upon the fal'Cie, unsurprised by it, while Sai slowly backed away. Hope had his hands over his ears, and upon seeing the revealed fal'Cie, he quickly turned and fled down the hall they'd all come from. All the machinery in the hallway was now active, gears spinning and whirring, lights flashing here and there.

As hope continued forward, the large crystal in Anima's chest flashed, and a barrier with the Pulse brand appeared. Hope smacked into it, falling back to the floor, and Vanille rushed over to help him.

"Come on now," Sazh said. "You really think you can kill a fal'Cie?"

Lightning primed her weapon. "I'm doing this for Serah," She stated simply. Snow took up a battle stance in agreement.

Sazh looked down in thought. "Dajh…" He muttered.

Around Anima, numerous screens lit up with black and white pulse brands.

The chocobo in Sazh's hair tweeted as he raised his head in determination. "I'm in. As long as you don't mind an amateur." He drew his guns. "I got these things. Might as well use 'em."

"Well, this'll be interesting," Sai muttered, drawing his silver sword. "I'm in too, if you'll have me."

"Thanks," Lightning said, before the group charged to attack.

Meanwhile, Rei held back. She couldn't fight Anima, even if it meant keeping her cover among her new allies. Deciding to take the more defensive route instead of attacking, she ran over to defend Hope and Vanille instead.

Then Anima attacked. It slammed its arms to the ground and a wave of magic energy shot out and sent everyone back. Lightning was the first to recover, fueled by rage, while Sazh and Snow quickly joined her. Sai was the least experienced in fighting with a short ranged weapon, and so he allowed Lightning and Snow to take the lead, with Sazh giving support fire.

The boys went for the two manipulators, while Lightning straight up went for the core. Though it was the toughest part of Anima, it was also the key to defeating it, despite them all being mere humans. Sai was using the silver sword Rei had given him, and so he was able to do more damage to Anima than even Lightning, slicing down the Right Manipulator before moving to help Snow and Sazh with the other.

The moment it fell, the fal'Cie shuttered and its core began to glow.

"What's it doing?" Snow asked.

"It's trying to regenerate its arms," Sai guessed. "We have to do damage now before it can!"

The four of them gave all they had against the fal'Cie, and despite it being strong, Anima was in a relatively weak state, having been stuck on Cocoon for so long and dormant for centuries. She swiped at the three close-ranged attackers with her arm, but it didn't stop them for very long.

The four did a significant amount of damage before, in a flash of light, the two manipulators returned.

"Round two then!" Sai declared, charging towards the Left Manipulator. Snow went for the one on the right, while Lightning and Sazh continued the assault on the fal'Cie's main body.

The two manipulators spun, releasing a dome of energy beneath each of them that basted back their attackers with a jolt of energy. Rei tossed everyone a potion, and after taking the quick heal, they continued.

By the time the manipulators were once again dispatched, Lightning and Sazh had nearly driven Anima to the edge.

"All together now!" Lightning called. "Hit the core!"

The boys all nodded in acknowledgement before readying their attacks. Snow charged in and punched as hard as he could, Sazh unleashed rapid fire - aiming so he wouldn't hit Snow, and Sai and Lightning threw their swords. Sai's glowed mid-flight, courtesy of it being a gift from Rei, and when it hit the core, it exploded in a flash of light.

The core of Anima crackled with electricity, and the next thing they knew, everything went white. When the light faded, everyone found themselves somewhere else entirely. They were floating in a dark space, a large glowing crystal above them.

"Where are we?" Lightning asked.

A church bell tolled in the distance, the light from the crystal pulsing bright and then darkening to the same beat. As the light pulsed, sparkling concentric crystal rings could be seen spiraling around them.

"What's going on?" Snow asked.

From below, a wave of energy was released up to engulf the crystal, shattering it open to reveal Pulse: a large mechanical being standing what had to be fifty feet tall with spiraling cords like snakes, whirring around, glowing with blue mist, the church bells ringing ever louder.

The mist came together to form numerous vines of energy, which then shot forward and restrained Hope, Lightning, Sazh, Snow and Sai. Despite their struggles, the vines easily kept their grip. Pulse held up its hand as an orb of white energy gathered, then releasing thicker vines at the group, hitting Lightning and Sazh in the chest and Hope and Snow in the left forearm.

"No, not him!" Rei shouted. She launched herself towards Sai, moving to aim her cuff to block the vine. But the snake of energy ended up grabbing both of their arms together, effectively searing the single brand onto both of their forearms, Rei's right and Sai's left.

The large fal'Cie then sent a blast of energy down each vine, causing them to thrust the new l'Cie into the darkness below.

Images of a city flashed before their eyes, a monster forming, lava exploding outwards to engulf Cocoon as it fell from its seat in the sky.

Thrown outside the Vestige, the fal'Cie then willed itself to crystal, exploding with booming force, wave after wave decimating what remained of Hanging Edge. The large machine that was holding of the Vestige dropped it, and the enormous structure joined the rest of the falling debris as it plummeted down into the lake below.

With one more final burst of energy, the fal'Cie Vestige created towering waves in Lake Bresha, before they all froze into crystal. Last to take on the blue tint was the Vestige itself, the light in the center glowing brightly as crystal dust rained down with the sudden quiet of the crystalized area.

_When I couldn't see a future, and I was afraid…when the future was clear, and it hurt to see…I'd just close my eyes, and lose myself in happier days_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since most of this story is already made, I'm going to be posting all of the already-made chapters all at once. This is gonna be fun :)


	3. Happier Days and Lake Bresha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hey, aren't you supposed to be on guard duty, Sergeant?" She asked.
> 
> "I am. As you can see, there isn't someone currently attacking the beach. As such, I am doing my job very well, if I do say so myself."
> 
> She shoved him with a laugh. "Slacker."
> 
> "It's your fault for distracting me."
> 
> "It's your fault for letting me distract you."
> 
> "It's your fault for being so irresistible that I can't help but get distracted by you."
> 
> "Or maybe I'm playing mind games so that you cannot resist me! Mwahahaha!"
> 
> "You can't do that! Can you?"

_**Day 11** _

_**The Seaside City of Bodhum** _

* * *

"They say these fireworks grant wishes," Sai explained.

"Do they?" Rei asked.

"I don't know. It really depends on if you believe in them or not."

She looked up at the flashing colors contained within the tall dome. Around them, numerous people were milling about, oohing and ahhing at the display, chatting amongst themselves happily.

"I've never seen such creations before. How long have your people been using such feats of technology?"

He shrugged. "You could probably find out somewhere, in books or electronic records, but as far as I'm aware, they've had the fireworks show every year in Bodhum for a while now."

"I've seen fal'Cie able to put on performances of color, though never this much. Usually the stars are what I look to in the dark sky."

"Do you make wishes to the stars?"

"I've never really thought about it. I've never had things to wish for, really. There are things that I want. Every sentient being strives for something that they desire. And yet I don't make wishes in which I must rely on "hope" and "faith" for them to happen. Anything that I have so little control over that I must resort to such a thing cannot be worth it."

"You never know. Sometimes, even the most powerful of people need to ask for miracles."

"And you? What do you wish for?"

"Not much, really. My life's pretty good."

"Everyone wants  _something_ , especially humans."

"I suppose I have low standards. Well…I've never really found the words for what I want. I guess, I just want things to stay the way they are. I've got a pretty good life."

"But if you had to choose  _something_  worthy of wishing for?" She pressed.

"I guess…maybe…that you'd stay?"

"What?"

"You're leaving in a couple days. I haven't known you long, but I like having you around. It's not like I have any family I live with, and so it gets lonely sometimes."

"But…you know what will happen if I'm found out with you. Your government would kill you on the spot, brand your name as a traitor."

"We've kept it under wraps for this long. It doesn't exactly seem hard."

"But should one of your fal'Cie meet me, they will recognize me with hardly a glance my way. They can sense my…enemy presence, and as I recover, I will only become more and more obvious."

"Still. It's a risk I'm willing to take. If it's too much a risk for you, I understand. You're the one in enemy territory, you've got far more to lose than me. It's just my wish. It doesn't have to be granted, and I can't do anything but hope."

She stared at him for a moment, before looking to the fireworks.

"Maybe…maybe I  _would_  like to stay here. I've been away from home for so long. I doubt there anyone left to miss me there. I do like it here, learning all about your culture and how the world has changed since the war. I was lucky enough to have found someone who wasn't gonna shoot me on sight or turn me in to your planet's authority. I think…staying might be worth the risk. But it is your home that I'm invading, of course."

"I don't mind," He said. "I like your company. Else I wouldn't be asking you to stay, right?"

She smiled and nodded. "Right."

"She said 'yes'!" Someone shouted in the distance. The two of them looked over to see a girl and boy over at the docks.

"This is also a good time for people to propose and/or declare one's feelings," Sai muttered.

Rei smiled. "Well, I'll keep that in mind for next year. If you can tolerate me for that long."

"Challenge accepted."

They clinked their glassed together and drank, the fireworks lighting up the night sky.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be on guard duty, Sergeant?" She asked.

"I am. As you can see, there isn't someone currently attacking the beach. As such, I am doing my job very well, if I do say so myself."

She shoved him with a laugh. "Slacker."

"It's your fault for distracting me."

"It's your fault for  _letting_  me distract you."

"It's your fault for being so irresistible that I can't help but get distracted by you."

"Or maybe I'm playing mind games so that you cannot resist me! Mwahahaha!"

"You can't do that! Can you?"

She laughed, and after a moment he ended up joining her.

Yeah. If he had to make a wish, it would be so that nothing changed and he could have this forever.

* * *

"Serah!"

Snow's loud exclamation woke the two with a startle. They were lying next to each other on the crystalized lake, their hands clasped together.

The others slowly began to stir, gathering their bearings before looking around at their location.

"Is this…for real?" Snow muttered.

Around them, the entirety of Lake Bresha was turned to crystal, the waves of the catastrophic event frozen in time, and the Pulse Vestige lying within the crystal a good distance away. Pieces of the Hanging Edge were buried within the frozen waves, and even the flames of the crashes had been turned to orange and yellow gems.

"This must be…Lake Bresha?" Sazh guessed.

He looked up, seeing the lights from Hanging Edge. "I guess we fell from up there, and the lake turned to crystal?"

He looked around to the others, panic settling in. "Help me out here! I mean, did the fal'Cie do this? How in the world did we end up here?"

"How should I know?" Lightning snapped.

Vanille fell to her knees. "We're alive. How?"

"I'd assume that the fal'Cie froze the lake when it made touch-down," Rei said. "As for how we ended up so far away…luck? Even if we were thrown from the fal'Cie in the catastrophe, there's no way we could've ended up this far off, and relatively intact, I might add."

"Serah!" Snow exclaimed. "No one survives a fall from that high, not without a miracle. Serah saved us!"

"Serah?!" Lightning asked in disbelief, her tone laced with anger. "Listen. It's all your fault she got-"

But Lightning was interrupted by the arrival of a Ghast behind her.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!" Sazh exclaimed.

Lightning turned and put her hand to her gunblade as the large Cie'th lumbered forward.

"Watch out!" Snow yelled as it moved to strike. He ran forward and blocked the monster's attack, before the brand on his arm suddenly began to glow with a blue light. Energy began to build up in his left hand, and he punched the Cie'th with enough force to send it flying back.

His brand's glow dissipated, and he stared at it in shock. "What did I…just do?"

Hope, having been sitting on the crystal with his head down since he'd woken up, now stood, anger surging through him. "You used magic!" He shouted, though less out of shock and more in accusation. "You used the power of a l'Cie! The fal'Cie cursed us. We're l'Cie now!"

More Ghasts began to converge on the group, and the one Snow had blasted back recovered and got to its feet again.

Lightning, focusing on the main problem, drew her gunblade. "Right."

Rei drew her sword and ran up to one of the Ghasts. She slashed at the monster with fury, and when Sai ran up to join her, both of their blades glowed and then both slashed and blasted the Cie'th down. Lightning went for another of the Ghasts, Snow testing out his magic and tossing a Blizzard spell. He ran up and then punched the Cie'th, infusing the blow with a Blizzard spell and using Froststrike.

"Ha, ha! Nice!"

Vanille waved her hand out and sent a gust of wind at the Cie'th. Together, she and Snow managed to stagger the Cie'th with ease, and then Lightning's blows were devastating, killing the monster within a few hits.

More Ghasts converged on the area Sazh sniping them down from a distance, while Snow and Vanille began tossing their spells. Rei waved her hand down upon one of them, and a Thundara spell came down upon the monster, causing it to flinch back. Sai concentrated, before managing to cast a fire spell.

The group managed to destroy a good deal of the Ghasts with ease, and soon there were only a few left. All of them then began to converge on Sazh and Sai. They concentrated all their attacks upon the two, not allowing either to recover or retaliate and doing some serious damage. While one of them attacked, another charged up a fire spell, sending burns down Sai's arms.

"Hey!" Rei called. She used some magic to Provoke the creatures, Snow doing the same beside her, and then just as they came up to attack and threw their spells, the two defended with Steelguard and withstood the attacks without the slightest bit of flinching. Vanille went to work casting Cure spells and healing everyone up, while Lightning went to work attacking the Cie'th while they were Provoked, and therefore uncaring of her or what she did.

Once Sai and Sazh were at full capacity again, they joined in, as well as Vanille. Rei and Snow turned their efforts offensive as well, dropping the Provokes and allowing the Cie'th to choose whichever opponent they wanted to attack. Yet now all of them were converging on the Cie'th, and the Ghasts didn't stand a chance.

Once the final Cie'th fell to the ground, defeated, everyone relaxed and sheathed their weapons.

Snow looked to his brand, turning to the others. "So we really are l'Cie."

Lightning turned away with an annoyed look, while Sazh looked to the brand sticking out from under his shirt on his chest. "Looks like it."

"You too?" Snow asked Vanille.

She nodded, raising her skirt slightly to show the brand near the top of her thigh. What the others didn't notice, or didn't pay any mind to, was the fact that it already had at least one arrow, the second half of her brand undeterminable without her raising her skirt too high to see if she had any more.

"Okay…" Snow muttered, trying to move on.

"It would seem so," Rei muttered, looking at her right forearm.

"How is that even possible?" Sai asked.

"It's your brand, really, just half of it is on me. Either way, it counts."

"L'Cie to the last," Lightning said.

Hope fell to his knees in shock. "Why me…?" He muttered, before looking to Lightning. "I don't even know you! But you have to go and attack that thing?!"

Lightning crossed her arms and looked away, Sazh looked like he wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words, and Snow looked guilty, also unable to find anything to say.

"Just leave me alone!" He shouted to Snow, before looking down, his hands clenched into fists. "It's your fault…it's your fault my…! You could've…!"

He suddenly stood, reeling on Snow. "All of this is your and Serah's fault!"

"Watch it!" Snow snapped. Hope instantly fell back to the ground in fear, but ended up backing into Lightning, who wasn't exactly a comforting bundle of joy either. Hope moved to the side, kneeling forward and covering his head with his hands while trying to breathe.

Snow sighed and put his hand to his forehead. "Sorry."

Vanille walked over to him, putting her hands on his shoulders and getting him to look up at her. "Everything is gonna be all right. You'll see."

She pulled him to his feet. "Come on." She began pulling him forward. "Off we go."

The others shrugged, but decided that they couldn't just stand there all day.

"L'Cie, huh?" Snow muttered, looking at his brand.

"Yep," Sazh said. "We're all playing for Team Pulse, now." He grunted in frustration. "Why me?"

"Why anyone?" Sai asked. "The world happens the way it happens. All we can do is deal with it."

"True that," Rei sighed.

"Okay," Lightning said. "If we don't know our Focus, how do we complete it?"

Vanille stepped forward. "I think…I saw it."

"Saw what?"

Vanille hesitated, unable to easily describe it.

"That is how a Focus comes down, people," Sazh said. "The fal'Cie? They don't spell it out with clear-cut instructions. All you get is a hazy glimpse."

Lightning, Snow, and Sai all turned to him in surprise. Confronted with three rough and tough fighters, Sazh backed off a bit. "Well, that's what they say. You know, legends and all." He turned away trying to get the attention off of him.

"You'd think that if a fal'Cie wants something done, they could just give a clearer explanation of what they wanted," Rei said. "Otherwise, what's the point? Honestly…"

"Did you see anything?" Lightning asked Hope.

Nervous with having the spotlight, Hope stuttered. "I uh - I just…It's all kind of foggy, but…I saw this big - I mean  _towering_ -"

Snow looked up in recognition, and Sazh turned, stepping forward with a surprised look on his face. "W-Wait a minute. Hold on now. Did we  _all_  have the same dream?"

"Ragnarok," Lightning, Snow, Rei and Sai said together.

Rei sighed, crossing her arms. "Cheery thought."

"So, we all saw the same dream," Sai muttered. "We all heard that same voice."

"You mean that was our Focus?" Hope asked. "But how are we supposed to know what to do from that?"

"That's the tricky part," Vanille said. "The dream's the only hint the fal'Cie gives us. Figuring out what to do with it - that's our job!"

"Even if you know where you're going, it's up to you to pick the route to get there," Rei said. "Problem with things like these is there is always more to it than the vision can possibly show us. Fal'Cie are cryptic like that. Sometimes things are simple, like go and hunt down this monster, find this person, but this is a pretty big one."

"Okay, okay," Sazh muttered. "We're  _Pulse_  l'Cie, right? Enemies of Cocoon! So, does that mean that our Focus is…? Are we supposed to-?"

"Save her," Snow interrupted.

"Say what?"

"Our Focus is to protect Cocoon," He declared.

"Really?" Sai asked. "Okay, and why's that?"

"Serah told us," He said simply. "Let's do it. We're all in this together. I'm gonna look for Serah. She ought to be nearby."

He hurried off.

"I'll come too!" Vanille called, running after him. "Wait!"

Sazh rubbed the back of his head with a sigh before walking forward. "That boy can't stay still!"

"Really…" Hope agreed. He reluctantly followed the masses, and the Rei and Sai walked after them as well.

Lightning was the last to join them, very unhappy about following Snow and his overconfident self, but sticking together was the best thing to do at the moment.

"We need to find a way out of here," Snow said as they walked. "We can worry about everything else later."

Vanille ran over to the edge of a piece of a pathway from Hanging Edge, buried in the crystal waves. "I can't see anything but crystal."

"And a few pieces of metal," Sai pointed out, joining her.

"It's pretty and all, but it's kind of creepy, too."

"And blindingly bright."

"Serah's gonna be pretty camouflaged," Rei noted.

"I'll go scope things out ahead," Snow said, running forward. "Watch the others, will you?"

"Hey, look, some Cie'th," Sai said, pointing. "I'll take care of 'em." He drew his silver sword and charged in, infusing his sword with fire to Heat Blitz the crap out of the Cie'th. It only took one Heat Blitz to take out the Weights, two Heat Blitzes to take out the Ghouls, and then a few more strikes to take out the remaining Ghasts.

As the group made their way through the crystalized lake, they caught up to Snow, who was facing his own pack of Cie'th and playing with his new magic powers.

"Magic may be cursed, but it makes us stronger, doesn't it? What's to stop us from putting it to good use?"

"Hey, check it out!" Sai exclaimed. He walked over to an orange crystal amongst all the blue and broke off a chuck. "Crystalized fire! This is awesome! Can fal'Cie just turn anything to crystal?"

"Things within reason, yes," Rei said. "I mean, I assume."

The group came together and caught up to Snow, who pumped his fist enthusiastically.

"We fight it!" He declared. "Ragnarok! That's the reason we're l'Cie. To stop it - to keep Cocoon safe!"

"Yeah, why don't you give us one reason to believe that?" Sazh asked. "One reason."

"Serah," He said confidently. "She said to protect Cocoon, and then she turned to crystal. That's the proof right there. She completed her Focus! That means ours is to save Cocoon. Serah's fal'Cie was the same as ours. Our Focus has got to be the same. We were chosen to be guardians, to defeat Ragnarok! It makes sense!"

"The hell it does!" Sazh protested. "You're grasping at straws, son! Pulse fal'Cie are Cocoon's enemies. We just got recruited by one of them." He stepped up to Snow. "If I were a betting man…I'd put us on the other side."

"I don't know about you, Snow, but I don't think that fal'Cie-"

"Anima," Rei said.

"Anima, was very keen on saving Cocoon," Sai argued. "Maybe there is a Pulse fal'Cie out there who doesn't want Cocoon's destruction, but that sure didn't seem like one."

"So Serah's an enemy too?" Snow asked. "Well I don't buy it!"

"It's not like Serah can just  _choose_  her Focus," Rei argued. "Maybe she was told to do something bad by Anima and told us to save Cocoon to stop whatever plans were set in motion that made her turn to crystal."

"But whether it's really our Focus or not, we can still choose to fight Ragnarok, right?" Sai pointed out. "Even if we become Cie'th because of it, better a bunch of Cie'th than that monster, right?"

Snow walked up to Lightning (bad idea) and held up his brand. "We have the power to save Cocoon. If we work together and carry out our Focus-"

Lightning's hand was already on her gunblade before Snow had even started his sentence, so it wasn't really a surprise when she drew it and held it up to Snow's throat.

"Our Focus?!" She shouted. "The fal'Cie took Serah from us, and you want to help it?! Whose side are you on?!"

"Freeze!"

Lightning pulled her gunblade back to face whoever dared provoke her while she was this enraged, and Rei had her sword already halfway out of the sheath when a large group of PSICOM Wardens showed up, training their guns on the group of l'Cie. Behind them, a second group blocked off the other escape route.

"Place your hands behind your heads!" One of the Wardens ordered.

Hope and Vanille instantly did so - hope cowering behind Sazh - Sazh and Snow a bit more reluctantly. Sai gave a glance to Rei before putting his behind his head as well. Rei purposefully drew her sword completely and dropped it to the ground, Lightning doing the same with her gunblade, the weapons clanging against the crystal.

"You fall off the Purge train?" The main Warden asked.

"Maybe," Lightning said, raising her hands to her head confidently.

The Warden marched up, his gun primed. "Are you talking back to me? Huh? Huh?!" He knocked her chin up with his gun barrel.

"Well you did just ask, sweetheart," Rei said, drawing his eyes to her.

"Nice gun," Lightning commented before smacking it away with ease, elbowing him in the jaw, circling around behind him, flipping him over her should and then kicking him away like a soccer ball.

"Stop her!" "Freeze!"

Rei launched herself forward, kicking one man's gun away while also grabbing another's. She twisted her position, punching a third in the jaw hard enough to send him back while also kicking another's feet out from under him.

Lightning kicked her gunblade up into the air, jumping up to grab it and then coming down upon another of the soldiers. She swerved out of another's attack, drawing all of their attention towards her. Sai grabbed Rei's sword and threw it towards her. She spin-kicked a Warden in the head, catching her blade on the way and then unleashing a Blitz upon the rest of the Wardens around her.

Lightning unleashed her own Blitz around the final crowd, and they all went down in that single strike.

"I thought they'd be tougher than that," Sazh commented, kneeling down to one of the fallen soldiers. "These guys are PSICOM, yeah? Supposed to be the cream-of-the-crop."

Vanille kneeled next to him, looking down at the Warden, and put her hands together in a kind of prayer gesture.

"Yeah, but PSICOM's an anti-Pulse task force," Snow said.

"Meaning they haven't fought a war in centuries," Sai concluded. "Bunch of rookie troops swinging around overpriced toys."

Sazh stood. "So, from what you're telling me, it sounds like a regular old soldier has more training than special forces."

"That's basically the gist of it."

Snow patted his chest confidently and then spread his arms. "Nothing for us l'Cie to be afraid of."

"Cut the crap," Lightning snapped. "Their grunts might be green, but PSICOM's elites are cold-blooded beasts. They hit the field and it's game over."

The two looked like they were about to have another argument, when Vanille, thankfully, interrupted.

"Uh-oh! Then let's run away! Ciao!" She waved and then went running off.

"Hey, wait!" Sazh called, but she was already gone. His chocobo flew out of his hair and landed in his hand, making a pointing motion with its wing as Sazh sighed and began to walk after her. "What's a man to do?"

Everyone shrugged and followed after Vanille, realizing that she was right. All they could do was continue forward and escape before the army closed in.

The path was littered with Cie'th, but at this point, the group was getting used to fighting them, using the battles as more a way to test out their new abilities. There even seemed to have been some resident Breshan Bass that somehow survived the crystallization of the lake, the fish/frog-like creatures pretty tough customers, surprisingly enough, but they weren't a very big issue either, with Snow and Rei going Sentinel to take their hard-hitting numerous attacks.

"Weird, isn't it?" Snow asked. "Of all the messed up ways to meet…Well, might as well make introductions. I'm Snow, Snow Villiers. Short stuff?"

"Hope. Hope Estheim."

"What about her?" Vanille asked.

"Bodhum Security Regiment," Sai said. "She goes by 'Lightning.' Last name's Farron."

"First? Anybody's guess," Snow finished.

"Vanille," She introduced, not offering a last name.

"Sazh Katzroy. Good to meet you."

"Hotaru Rei Chan, but call me Rei."

"Hui Ken Sai. I go by Sai."

Vanille skipped ahead, Hope reluctantly following.

Sazh sighed. "It's not right. Why'd kids have to get dragged into this?"

"I'll keep the kids out of trouble," Snow said.

Sai chuckled and pat him on the shoulder. "Problem with that is, you're one of them."

"Hey…"

"Trying to take on the Pulse fal'Cie, that was our first mistake," Sazh said. "Should've left it to the Sanctum."

"Hey!" Vanille called, waving from a distance away. She looked to Hope beside her, grabbed his hand, and then used it to wave as well.

"Why not? I mean, we've counted on the Sanctum's fal'Cie for food, water…everything we've needed since the time we were born."

"But you still helped us do it," Snow pointed out. "Why's that? Gotta be something."

"There might've been." He walked forward. "Not so sure anymore."

As they continued forward, Pantherons came into the fray once more, more of a nuisance than anything else, since they were easy even before l'Cie powers came into question. Some PSICOM Enforcers and Wardens were the same case.

Marching forward, they continued onwards to escape the closing net of the army.


	4. Leaving One Behind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lightning turned, her teeth clenched in built up rage for the blonde and his boasting in a time like this. She'd had enough of him, his cocky and overconfident declarations despite things set right in front of his eyes, and with Serah not around to stop her anymore, she stomped up to the taller man, paused for only a brief moment, before giving him a right-hook to the jaw strong enough to send him toppling back into Sazh behind him, and down into the ground.
> 
> "Does she look protected to you?!" Lightning shouted.
> 
> Hard-headed as can be, Snow rose once more. "I can save her!"
> 
> She punched him down once again. "What can you possibly do?!" She demanded.
> 
> "Whatever it takes!" He responded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If the lack of change from the main story bugs you, I apologize. We'll get into more of Rei and Sai's contributions as we progress.
> 
> If you don't like it and hate the story because of it, you can leave if you want. I'm not keeping you by force.
> 
> If you're staying, review!

"Is that wreckage from the Vestige?" Snow asked.

"Looks like it," Sai said.

The group walked through a bunch of metal chains, continuing through the small wave of Pantherons. They even encountered a small group of PSICOM Wardens and Enforcers, but they were just as easy as ever.

"We must be heading towards some kind of base of theirs with the mechanical monsters and the soldiers," Rei noted. "Not exactly the best plan if we're trying to avoid them, but maybe we can commandeer a ship out of here."

"We'd make quite a ruckus if we did," Sazh pointed out. "Even if we do get a ship, it most likely won't be a quiet escape."

"Better than nothing," Sai said. "If it were easy, we'd have been out of here ages ago."

They walked up a crystal ramp to reveal that it was actually a train half buried in the crystal. "The train fell too," Vanille muttered. "I wonder what else is down here."

The other half of the train wasn't covered in the slippery frozen rock, and so it was a lot safer to scale down. From the ramp, a short distance away, a certain crystal stuck out of the ice.

At first, it was hard to tell exactly what it was, with it being made of the same crystal that the entire lake was now composed of, however, upon a few extra moments of examination, it was revealed to be Serah's crystal, perfectly intact and lying in a large bed of crystal attached to the crystal of the lake.

"Serah," Lightning muttered in shock.

She stepped forward, but Snow surged past her.

"Serah!" He ran up and kneeled in front of her. "Serah…"

He gently touched her face, before taking her hand. "I'll get you out of there."

He turned and went over to grab a large, sharp piece of metal - most likely thrown from the wreckage of the train - before hurrying back over to her and working to dig her out of the crystal bed she was now resting in.

Vanille grabbed a smaller piece, maybe the size of a chisel, and kneeled beside him. "I'll help you."

"Thanks!"

Sazh sighed and grabbed his own piece, while Sai drew his sword and helped out too, each being careful not to harm Serah's actual crystal, and only the stuff surrounding her and sealing her to the crystal lake. Hope, having little strength and no more room to join them, stayed back, but looked ready to help if they needed him.

Lightning stared at the crystal of her sister, sadness flashing through her eyes.

" ** _This is goodbye,_** " Rei heard her think to herself.

Then, Lightning turned and began to walk away.

Snow noticed, turning towards her and standing. "Lightning! You're just gonna leave her?"

Lightning came to a stop. "PSICOM will be here soon," She said without turning around. "If they find us, we're all dead. You think Serah would want that? You think you know how she feels?"

The soldier began to march off once more, until Snow caused her to halt once more. "If I leave her, then I'll never know. We'll be fine. I can handle anything they throw at us. No one will die. I'll protect Serah. And Cocoon!"

Seeing the potential threat even before it happened, Sai, Rei, Vanille and Hope all stepped back.

Lightning turned, her teeth clenched in built up rage for the blonde and his boasting in a time like this. She'd had enough of him, his cocky and overconfident declarations despite things set right in front of his eyes, and with Serah not around to stop her anymore, she stomped up to the taller man, paused for only a brief moment, before giving him a right-hook to the jaw strong enough to send him toppling back into Sazh behind him, and down into the ground.

"Does she look protected to you?!" Lightning shouted.

Hard-headed as can be, Snow rose once more. "I can save her!"

She punched him down once again. "What can you possibly do?!" She demanded.

"Whatever it takes!" He responded.

Lightning had her fist clenched, prepared to strike him down again, but his words caused her to pause. She slowly dropped her fist, instead turning to the side with a sigh of exasperation, with a subtle hint of surprise at his dedication.

Sazh stood with a heavy sigh. "You two are hopeless," He muttered.

Snow stood with a huff, before turning back to his task and grabbing his tool to continue hacking away at the hard crystal around his fiancée.

"You just can't admit it," Sazh continued, walking a short distance away. "You want to stay as much as he does."

Vanille turned and continued her efforts as well, Sai shrugging and joining in again too. Lightning stood firm, unwilling to assist, but no longer moving to leave either.

Rei was going to join in the efforts, but then her senses spiked.

"Heads up!"

She drew her sword and then flicked it. It turned to light for a moment before being replaced with a golden longbow about five feet tall. She snatched Sai's silver sword, hooking it to her belt, and it turned to light like hers had, but instead of a bow, it transformed into a silver quiver of arrows.

Nocking an arrow, she fired into the sky. As everyone looked to where her projectile headed, they suddenly saw the main body of a Manasvin Warmech flying down. It was missing it's razor-claw arms, and it looked pretty beat up, the metal scratched and dented, half the eye lights broken and the other half flickering.

Rei's arrow struck the Warmech in the side, exploding on impact, but it recovered in the air and landed on the train that the group had previously walked across. It shined it's searchlight at them, and Lightning drew her gunblade, charging in for a fight. Rei transformed the quiver back into a sword and tossed it to Sai, her own weapon reverting, and the two joined her to face the Warmech.

The machine launched up and over the group, landing with a thudding boom behind them, where Hope and Vanille had been standing. Hope fled with a shout of panic, while Vanille drew her weapon as well and Snow ran up with his AMP emblem appearing on his coat to enhance him.

Lightning, Rei, Sai, and Snow all ran up to use their short-ranged attacks, Sai and Lightning doing straight up attacks while Rei and Snow infused theirs with spells. Vanille threw her own spells into the mix, while Sazh fired his bullets from his long range.

The Warmech's body section split to send out a beam of powerful energy, and it swept across the area to hit everyone. Vanille quickly got to work with some Cure spells, and Rei tossed out a Cura to everyone before they continued their assault.

Sai switched to casting magic to help with building a stagger, and in no time, the mechanical beast shined golden, the attacks doing significantly more damage, cutting through the metal like it was nothing, denting it with little effort, and causing it to flinch from the more magic attacks throw its way.

In retaliation, the Warmech raised it's head up before using Crystal Rain, letting out a large meteorite of crystal at Lightning, Sai and Snow. The three of them flinched back from the attack, taking some serious damage, and Vanille threw some Cures their way. The Warmech threw another boulder of crystal, knocking them all back.

Snow switched to Sentinel and glowed with Steelguard, learning his l'Cie abilities quickly. His new power also made it so that when he was in Sentinel mode, the rest of the group also had some slight protection as well. Vanille quickly continued her Cures, while Lightning, Sai, Sazh, and Rei continued the assault on the weakening Warmech.

As it's stagger came to an end, Rei jumped up, flipping in the air to bring down her sword with as much force as she could muster and slammed her sword through the Warmech's body, unleashing a Scourge attack. Sparks flew, and the mechanical beast spasmed before raising it's tail and sending out four beams of energy concentrated towards her. She quickly pulled her sword out and jumped away, but the damage was done.

The Warmech continued to use it's laser attack in its final attempt to fight back, but Snow, Sai, Vanille and Rei all threw in as many spells as they could, quickly staggering the enemy and causing it to glow gold once more. At that point, everyone except Vanille - as her skills lied in magic, not physical attacking- switched to Commando and threw all the attacks they could at it.

Rei jumped upon the Warmech once more, gathered energy in her hands, before slamming her palm down into the hole she'd made previously from her Scourge attack. "See if you like this!"

The machine exploded with a torrent of water, courtesy of a powerful Waterga spell. The liquid surged through it's already damaged circuits, causing any working mechanisms in the machine to explode. Finally, the Warmech broke down from the severe damage done and slumped, the few lights in its eyes dying out and all power fading from its wires.

Rei sheathed her sword before tearing off a piece of the metal from the Warmech's back where she kneeled. She dug around in the wires before pulling out a small, red, pulsing cylinder no bigger than a pill. "Built in tracker separate from the main structure," She reported. "In essence, it can't be hacked if the rest of the machine is, and it will remain active even if the Warmech is destroyed in some way. It's pulsing, meaning it's sending out a signal that the Warmech is down. We don't have a lot of time before soldiers will converge on this area."

Everyone sheathed their weapons. "So, what's the plan then?" Vanille asked.

Lightning said nothing, before briskly turning to walk off. Snow saw it and hurried to cut her off. "You're leaving?" He demanded.

"We wanna help Serah too," Sazh said, before sighing and nodding towards her crystal. "But without tools, we could be digging for days."

"The army's on our trail," Sai admitted. "For now, we've gotta keep moving. For now."

"So I just abandon her, and save myself?!" He snapped.

Sai hung his head. If he were in Snow's position, seeing a loved one turned to crystal, he understood how hard it would be to just walk away and abandon them.

"What about your Focus?" Lightning asked. "What happened to banding together and saving the world? Isn't that what you promised? Now you want to forget it all and die right here?"

Snow's anger quickly faded, as Lightning's observations were accurate. Sazh tapped his hand to his head like, " _She's got a point,_ " and Rei slid off the Warmech with a grim look on her face. Snow did a lot of boasting, but in the end, he still had the best intentions at heart.

"Snow?" Lightning continued. "You're nothing but talk."

With that, she walked past him.

Snow's head fell, but he gritted his teeth, and clenched his fists. "Lightning!" He shouted, causing her to pause in her tracks, though neither turned towards each other. "I'll do whatever it takes. I'll finish this Focus,  _and_  keep Serah safe." He raised his head, looking forward. "That's my promise."

"Great job so far," She responded monotonously and continued her march forward.

Sazh sighed and looked to Snow regretfully, knowing that following Lightning really was the best course of action.

"Stay out of trouble," Snow said to him with a small smile.

Sazh put his hand on Snow's shoulder as he walked past. "You too."

Vanille looked reluctant to leave Snow, and Hope looked conflicted, unsure of how he felt.

"Get going," Snow said, jabbing a thumb behind him in Lightning's direction. Vanille reluctantly moved forward, Hope following behind her. Snow put his hand up in farewell. "Later."

"Okay," Vanille nodded before running to catch up.

Hope moved to do the same, but paused just as he ran past Snow. He moved to stand in front of Snow once more, surprising the tall warrior. "Snow…" Hope began, but couldn't seem to find the right words.

Snow put his hands on his hips. "Save it for next time, kiddo. You'll get left behind."

Hope moved to hurry and catch up, but paused once more. "But…"

"It's okay, Hope. Light will take care of you." He smiled. "We'll meet again."

"Yeah," He finally conceded. "Count on it."

With that, Hope finally ran off, turning to look back only once more and then joining the others.

"Look," Rei said. "Even if you  _could_  get Serah out before PSICOM catches up, what are you planning to do then? Are you going to drag her to safety somewhere? Even if we all worked together, we'd never outrun the army with her to carry and monsters and some random soldiers to fight along the way. Stay if you want, but PSICOM most likely won't do anything to a crystal, but if they find that a Pulse l'Cie cares about it, they'll go for it first and destroy it just to use it as a weakness."

She sighed.

"Snow, if you want everything, you'll end up with nothing," She continued. "At least you can get some more information before you claim that our Focus is to save Cocoon. You may believe that Serah's Focus and ours is to save Cocoon, but there could be the simple fact that it's not. Just think about this: did Serah  _choose_ her Focus? You say she's not and enemy, but what she's  _told_  to do doesn't make her one. What she  _wants_  to do does. Her Focus could've been to help destroy Cocoon and she told us to save it so that it wouldn't happen. I believe Serah has a good heart, and I know you do too. I know there's no changing your mind, but I'm just saying…keep an open mind. And be careful, all right?"

"I get the picture," He promised.

She chuckled. "I sincerely hope so."

"We'll be seeing you around, right?" Sai said.

He nodded, and the two moved to join the others.

Snow, meanwhile, turned back to Serah, kneeling in front of her. "I'll get you out of there," He promised, before grabbing his piece of metal and continuing his task.

Sazh sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm not happy about leaving the kid on his own, but we've got to keep moving."

"Maybe we shouldn't have left him on his own," Vanille muttered as we walked.

"He's a big boy," Rei said. "He can handle himself."

"You can't fault the guy for not trying," Sai admitted. "He may be all talk, but he's giving it his best."

"Guess all we can do is pray he makes it out okay," Sazh said.

They continued through the crystal waves, encountering the usual Breshan Bass, Bloodfang Bass, Pantherons, Cie'th, etc.

At one point, they had to cross large cables to get across a cavern. Below were jagged spikes of crystal, and even when the crystal leveled out, it was still a good 50 meters down.

"Okay, do  _not_  shake the slippery tube!" Sazh announced. "We cool on this? Do  _not_  shake the slippery tube!"

"It's only scary if you look down!" Vanille called.

"Are we seriously sure this is a good idea?" Sai asked.

Rei slipped her hand into Sai's. "I'll keep you safe," She promised. "Come on."

He sighed. "What's that old saying? If all your friends walked off a cliff…"

"Oh just shift!" Rei complained, playfully shoving him forward.

He reluctantly walked forward, and they made it across without incident.

"Still couldn't talk to him?" Vanille asked Hope while Lightning scouted the area ahead. "You'll never get past this if you don't say something."

"Words won't change anything," Hope argued. "But next time we meet, he'll know exactly how I feel."

"What's up with him?" Sai asked.

"Human stuff," Rei muttered, her attention elsewhere. "Hm, maybe we can utilize this."

Hope looked to the airship she was examining, embedded in the ice. "This thing's a wreck. I don't think we can use it.

She reached to the back of her belt and shot the gun atop the crashed ship. She aimed her shot well, setting off the gun to fire at the wall of crystal ahead, bringing it down with only a few rounds. Unfortunately, it also aroused the local bass.

They fought the group of fish-frog creatures, the Breshan Bass significantly more resilient than the Bloodfang Bass, but still not much of a challenge.

As they passed through the wall of crystal, they came across a green mechanical behemoth.

"What the heck?" Sai muttered. "They made behemoths too? I knew PSICOM made a bunch of mechanical monsters to fight with based on real creatures, but come on!"

"Look out!"

Rei shoved him aside as the Alpha Behemoth charged forward and took a swing. The wide radius of the attack ended up hitting everyone, and Vanille had to quickly switch to Medic and toss some Cures. The behemoth slowly backed away, as though taunting them, but in actuality, it was beginning to charge power, already at 25%.

"Toss fire and water!" Rei shouted.

The others complied, Sazh and Sai throwing Fire spells, Rei casting Wateras, and Lightning taking the Commando role to attack. Vanille just finished up the healing before the behemoth charged up and swiped at her. Everyone had scattered around so that no one else was caught in the attack, so she threw a Cure on herself for the damage and then switched to Ravager and throwing Water spells.

At that point, the Alpha Behemoth had already reached 50% and growing. It swiped at Lightning, but she jumped and back-flipped out of the way just in time to continue attacking not a moment afterwards. It's power built to 90%, but everyone threw in their efforts to hit it with spells, and finally the mechanical monster shined with a golden aura.

Lightning's attacks did significantly more damage, causing the behemoth to flinch under her strikes, and so Rei and Sai charged up with their swords to do more damage, Sazh and Vanille continuing to throw spells to build the chain and allow for even more damage.

With their assault, the behemoth wasn't left a moment to recover, and soon it fell dead before it could unleash the attack it had been charging.

"That guy must mean we're getting close to the PSICOM base," Rei noted. "They wouldn't let their big guns wander too far off. They'd want to protect their base the most."

Sazh walked over to the cliff edge and looked down. "Look at that. They're sending in cruisers. Primarch must be sweating bullets, mobilizing ships like that."

"What's a Primarch?" Rei whispered to Sai.

"A big leader guy of the government."

"Oh. Like a fal'Cie?"

"No. He's human. He's like the human representative with all the fal'Cie, or at least, I think so. I'm not a politics guy."

The group joined Sazh, kneeling to look down and see the large ship he was referring to. Around it, soldiers were lined up and moving out, some on foot and others through the air with glowing wheel-like things strapped onto their backs that spun to propel them forward. Some rode in vehicals with similar properties as well, the motorcycle-like hovering crafts armed with weapons, some open-cabined and others closed off so that it could be debated whether they had pilots or not.

Rei marveled at the wonders of technology Cocoon had. Machines that could let man fly without magic.

"They must be hunting down Purge survivors," Sazh guessed.

"I hope everyone made it out okay," Vanille said.

"So do I. But nowhere is safe for them now." Sazh smacked the crystal ground in frustration. "Dammit! Just 'cause they shared a neighborhood with a fal'Cie…they get treated like Pulse-tainted rats.

Rei looked down, a somber expression on her face. "People…people really hate Pulse, don't they?"

"Not  _hate,_ " Sai argued, placing his hand on hers.

"More like  _fear,_ " Sazh corrected. "Tens of millions of people…all scared of Pulse boogeymen." He looked to the brand on his chest and a fist formed. "They'd be shaking in their beds every night if they knew that l'Cie like us were around."

"But…they Purged that entire town!" Vanille said, agreeing with Rei.

"It's crazy, I know," He said to her, before looking forward with a dark expression. "But the Sanctum fal'Cie did nothing to stop it. Up until now, Eden's always stepped in to correct their errors in judgement."

"Guess humans aren't worth the effort," Sai muttered. "Figure they'll let us just kill each other off."

Hope, who had been sitting behind them in silence, stood. "L'Cie are not human," He declared angrily.

Vanille, fed up with his depressing mood and his statements, stood with a huff and snatched his wrist. "Listen, you, that's enough!"

She saw his brand peaking out from underneath the scarf on his wrist, and she hesitated, her anger quickly fading. She released his wrist, stepping away.

"We're still alive," She said with weak enthusiasm, looking up as she tried to smile once more. "That's something."

It wasn't a lot to cling to in their situation, but it would have to be enough.

Then, the entire area began to tremble with a quake.

"What?" "Where is it?" Lightning and Sazh asked respectively.

"I don't know," Hope muttered as everyone looked around.

"There!" Rei called.

A ship passed overhead, then another, another, another, and another. Eight or ten in all, splitting into pairs before flying in separate directions.

"They're sealing off the area," Lightning realized. "They're trying to trap the stragglers."

"We've gotta get moving before we're caught in the net," Sai declared.

As they all moved forward, they now faced an increasing number of PSICOM Trackers, Rangers, and Watchdrones. The Watchdrones came in groups, were pretty quick, and therefore built up a good deal of damage.

All together, a group of three charged Electrokicks and all targeted Sai. The Electrokicks themselves were only moderately powerful, not instant death but still pretty strong, yet when they all teamed up against a single person, the damage wracked up exponentially and Sai was brought to his knees before he could even realize what was happening.

"No!" Rei charged in with an Electric Blitz before throwing her hand down and summoning a Waterga spell to explode beneath them. She hacked at the machines until they were scrap metal in seconds before then running over and tossing a Phoenix Down to Sai.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"I've always hated those things," He muttered. "I'm good, thanks."

"Be more careful next time, all right?"

"I'll try."

They knew that there wasn't gonna be any easy route out, so they set their sights on trying to find where some ships so that they could commandeer one.

Heels clacking against the crystal beneath them, they had to climb up a large mountain of crystal, Sazh complaining the entire way. "Do we really have to go this way? I'm too old for this." "I may be a l'Cie, but I ain't getting any younger." "Whoa! How high is this thing? I don't think I'm gonna make it." "Years catch up with you."

"Crystal waterfall," Sai pointed out on a more cheery note.

"Yeah, Sazh, stay positive," Rei agreed.

At the top of the frozen mountain they found one of those hovering vehicals that may or may not have had a pilot within. They snuck up on the Ciconia Velocycle, knocking its stagger gauge high so that it only took a single spell to stagger it. Even with that disadvantage, it was pretty tough, and the stagger actually wore off before it could be finished off. Once it could withstand attacks without flinching, it charged its Beam Gun. Rei Sentineled it, Provoking the attack to her before activating Steelguard to take the heavy hit.

It wasn't hard to finish off its remaining power, and they continued down the road. From their height, they could see, in detail, the rolling waves of crystal spread as far as the eye can see.

"Whoa," Vanille muttered happily. "This whole place is crystal!"

"You know, I question how the crystal formed some of these shapes," Sai said.

"Just go with it and count our stars that we've found a path through at all," Rei told him.

Lightning overlooked the scenery to instead spy the PSICOM ships flying a good distance away.

Sazh sighed and stared off into the distance. "I wonder what it would be like. To become a crystal, I mean."

"It's gotta be scary," Rei said. "It's gotta feel lonely, being blocked off from the rest of the world like that. But maybe you'll dream. Maybe they're just sleeping, and one day, they'll awake. Snow did have a point. It's not called 'Eternal life' for nothing. Maybe turning to crystal doesn't mean death after all. Maybe there's some perks to it."

Vanille turned to them in surprise. "You're gonna complete your Focus?"

Sazh shrugged. "Maybe. If I knew what it was. I probably don't wanna know."

She turned to Lightning. "Hey, Lightning. Did Serah say anything to you about her Focus?"

Lightning looked down, putting her hand to her chest where her brand was. "Nothing," She admitted.

Trying to recover, Vanille said, "Oh, you know what? She probably didn't want to worry you."

"Or she just…didn't think she could trust me."

Lightning walked off, and Vanille made a sound of regret for asking.

We followed her off through corridors of crystal, the occasional Watchdrone meeting us, but otherwise, it was a pretty straightforward path.

"Listen you, there's no need to be all negative," Sazh said.

"Speak for yourself," Sai muttered.

They came out from the tunnel of crystal to find a large structure sticking out from the crystal, as though it was too tall for the waves of ice to flood over. It seemed to be old, some kind of ruins, and there was an Alpha Behemoth right at the top of the steps to it, some soldiers in the distance. Large fire crystals revealed that there were crashed platforms from Hanging Edge here.

"We're getting close," Rei said. "It seems this place attracted a good deal of attention. They're bound to have a ship nearby."

"Then let's hurry, before they send out the alert that we're here," Lightning said.

Nodding, they hurried through the Bresha Ruins.


	5. Escaping the Net

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We really sure he's trustworthy?" Rygdea asked. "What if he's just leading us in circles and actually has no idea where the l'Cie are?"
> 
> "I'm not a 'he'. I'm agender."
> 
> "Whatever. Point still stands."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Personally, I find that some boss battles are interesting when actually written down, but this one was one of them that I would've just kept scrolling until I reached the next dialogue. If it's not as epic or amazing as you'd have liked, I apologize, but there are only so many ways to make a battle scene interesting, especially when you're reading it and don't have an actual visual to hook your attention.
> 
> Enjoy, review, all that jazz. Predictions, recommendations, complaints? I'll take anything (but please be nice, if you would).

After fighting some Crusaders, Pantherons, PSICOM Rangers, Trackers, and the seriously fast Executioners, they seemed to have made it past the wave of soldiers.

"Something's making the hairs on my neck stand up," Sazh muttered.

"You've got to stop worrying, Sazh!" Vanille said cheerfully. "We outran 'em. We'll be okay now."

"Stay on guard though," Rei said. "Anything could happen. Best we be prepared for the worst."

Walking into a large area surrounded by crystal flames, everyone looked around in awe. The group slowly walking forward, Vanille happily ran off.

"Stay close!" Lightning ordered.

"I wanna look around!" She called back.

Lightning put her hands to her hips and sighed. The others looked around the area as well, but stayed together just in case.

Rei looked up and around, searching for something she swore she sensed flying by.

When Vanille screamed and came running back, a large mechanical Wyvern-like creature came flying in behind her, crashing through the crystal fire as it swooped in, narrowly missing her.

"Help me! Help me!"

"Over here!" She ran into Sazh and quickly hid behind him as the Garuda Interceptor roared in challenge.

Rei threw an Aerora at the flying monster, causing it to flinch back, but it flew down towards them and spun around, it's wings sending all of them back. Once they recovered, Sai, Vanille and Sazh began casting Aero spells while Lightning, Rei and Lightning straight up charged. They jumped into the air and began striking the monster's head and body while the others built up a chain.

As the women fell to the ground again, it attempted to dive down and swing for them again. Lightning hit the ground in time to brace herself, but Rei was thrown back just before. She flipped in the air, though, and landed on her feet, moving to charge back in once more. At that time, the others managed to stagger the Garuda, and now their attacks caused the monster to flinch with every strike and spell.

As the monster weakened, it turned, roaring with it's second mouth, and flying away to bust through the orange crystals ahead.

"It's charging up," Rei realized.

The Garuda circled through the air, and then flung it's wings out, ready for another round, beginning to glow.

"Charging?" Sazh asked. "What are you talking about? Charging for what?"

"It's last moments," Lightning declared, charging forward.

When they reached the Garuda again, it flapped its wings before glowing green with a barrier. On top of attacks being more useless than previous, it no longer just attacked physically, it was shooting bolts of lightning from its mouth at us. Lightning and Rei were the primary targets, as they were still running up for physical attacks, while the others battered it with Aero spells. Though the Garuda took significantly less damage now and its bolts occasionally knocked someone down and required healing, things were going pretty well, and they nearly had a stagger.

Then the flying monster circled high, gathering energy into an orb with its second mouth. Once it was charged, the orb shot downwards into the ground.

"Look out!"

Sai was right beneath where the Garuda had aimed its attack and had barely enough time to raise his sword in defense before it slammed down upon him. Energy pulsed outwards from the blast, and when the dust settled, he was lying limp.

"Bastard!"

Rei went charging in, withstanding bolts of lightning shot at her without breaking stride. She flicked her sword and it glowed as a gale of wind swirled around it. She launched straight at the Garuda and slashed her sword right through it, causing it to glow golden with the stagger, its barrier also dropping. Spinning around in the air, she came down upon it with booming force, taking the mechanical monster to the ground.

It protested, flailing about wildly, but her sword had it pinned to the rock beneath it. She twisted the blade with furry and send a strong Thundaga spell down the sword and into the Garuda. With one final roar and a good deal of sparks flying, the Garuda exploded with a wave of energy before finally shutting down. Rei gathered energy in her palm before slamming it down on the Garuda's limp body, and it hummed with energy before exploding into dust, subsequently scattered by the wind.

Falling to the ground and sheathing her sword, she hurried over to Sai and tossed a Phoenix Down on him. He woke with a jolt and then groaned, holding his head.

"Never wanna do that again…"

"Are you all right?" She asked him.

"Fine now. Thanks."

"Keep your guard up, next time, okay?"

"I know. Hope you didn't break anything."

"Nothing but the monster."

"Well, progress is progress."

She held out a hand and helped him to his feet. After brushing himself off, he took his sword and sheathed it, assuring her that he was fine.

Turning from the scene, Vanille exclaimed in surprise and ran forward, pointing. "Check it out!"

Just ahead was a PSICOM airship, parked but on a launching track. Everything seemed to be active, though lights flickered occasionally, and the ship looked relatively intact, only minor scratches in the pain here and there.

"Come on," Sazh sighed. "Hop to it, let's go."

They walked forward and Vanille laughed happily at the sight. "This will make things easier!"

"Uh-huh, yeah," Sazh said skeptically beside her. "Knowing our luck, it's probably missing an engine."

"You shouldn't be so negative," Sai scolded, Vanille nodding in agreement with her hands on her hips.

"And you shouldn't get your hopes up," He retorted.

Vanille grumbled angrily and followed him to the ship with Hope behind her. Lightning looked around reluctantly, still on edge with the convenience of the ship very suspect, but relented and joined them in boarding the ship.

Sai moved to join them before he noticed Rei hanging back. "Hey, come on. Don't get left behind."

She looked around, and then her gaze settled on a white and blue owl perched on a broken column. "Menrva…" She muttered.

"What?" He looked up to the owl. "Oh, cool bird."

"Hey guys!" Vanille called, waving. "Hurry up! Come on!"

"Let's go," Sai urged.

"All right," She muttered, not exactly listening to him.

She allowed him to drag her off to the ship, but Rei merely took a seat and stared off into space, her mind wandering to the fal'Cie's bird. It had to have recognized her, and this ship appearing here had to have been the bird's master's doing. Whether being on this ship meant she was dooming her new friends, as well as Sai, she couldn't be sure.

All she knew was that the Cocoon fal'Cie had brought her to this world for a reason, and if the bird was keeping an eye on her, it could mean nothing but trouble.

* * *

"We really sure this is the way to go?" Fang asked, resting her drawn lance on her shoulder as she walked, her platoon of soldiers behind her.

"I am certain."

"How many we dealing with?"

"Just one. There had been more, however this one seems to have been left behind. Best to pick him up before we go chasing after the others."

"You'd think hunting down l'Cie would be easier, especially for someone like you."

"I'm out of my element. Excuse me if I find this world very…diverse."

"Yeah, well it's not like I'm much better."

"We really sure he's trustworthy?" Rygdea asked. "What if he's just leading us in circles and actually has no idea where the l'Cie are?"

"I'm not a 'he'. I'm agender."

"Whatever. Point still stands."

"I can assure you I'm real. It's up to you whether to believe me or not. In any case, you should count your blessings that we have any means of tracking them faster than the army at all."

"You might wanna rethink that statement," Fang said.

She nodded forward. In the sky, three ships flew past them in the direction they were walking, before circling back. A short distance ahead, three Skytanks converged on an area, all shining their searchlights down until they all converged on a single spot.

" _Sweep team to base. L'Cie spotted. I repeat, l'Cie spotted. Pulse l'Cie confirmed._ "

"Now what was that about being faster than the army, Shu?" Fang asked.

"Shut up," They muttered, drawing their large sword from their back.

It was about five feet tall, six inches wide, Damascus steel, single-edged, with a royal blue ribbon wrapped around the hilt. (Basically, Damascened Buster Sword, FF VII fans). Despite its size, Shu wielded it like it weighed nothing, casually placing it on their shoulder to mimic Fang while they swept their waist-long golden hair back.

"How about  _you_  try tracking a l'Cie with nothing but intuition? Only then will I have listen to your crap."

"Bet I could still track 'em faster, blondie."

"I'll take that challenge."

"You gonna lend me a hand, or what?!" The l'Cie called.

Shu and Fang's group stood out of sight from the PSICOM troops, looking to see the l'Cie holding a large piece of metal. He seemed to have been trying to free the crystalized woman beside him, her bed of rock infused with the frozen lake around them.

PSICOM troops came jumping from the Skytanks, dropping Grav-Cons below them to break their falls, all training their weapons on the l'Cie.

" _Commencing cleanup protocol,_ " The announcement from the Skytank said.

The l'Cie raised his piece of metal. "Cleanup? Let me help."

He reared back and chucked the metal projectile at the assembly of Rangers and Trackers, taking two down instantly. He then rushed forward, taking down a third. The soldiers instantly had their weapons trained on him, and four more dropped down to replace the fallen three.

"Feisty one, isn't he?" Fang commented.

"He won't last," Shu replied.

"Aren't you just a bundle of joy?"

"Just stating facts."

As predicted, the l'Cie was eventually worn down by the sheer number of troops. Every time he took one down, two more dropped into the fray to replace them. It wasn't long before the tall man fell to his hands and kneels panting as the troops closed in.

"We should-"

"Hold," Shu ordered, putting their hand up. "Look at his brand."

Indeed, the l'Cie's brand on his left forearm began to glow with a blue light. As the light grew brighter and energy began swirling from it, the troops began to back up warily. In front of the fallen l'Cie, an orb of energy appeared with a symbol swirling within.

"What's he doing?" "Watch yourself!"

The orb floated upwards before expanding into a larger one, shining ever brighter and continuing to grow. With a small flash, the orb turned to ice and then popped like a balloon, raining down ice shards along with revealing two women, obviously not human. Their bodies seemed to be made of metal, a wheel behind each of their heads held within what could be considered fancy helmets.

The two women glowed with power clearly inhuman, floating down in a dance to hover next to each other. The woman with her eyes covered by a mask waved her hand and the wheel within her helmet hovered out, glowing as it whirred and spun, following the movements of her hand. The other woman, with darker skin, merely waved her hands as energy glowed around her, and the two unleashed their attacks together, causing an instant storm of magic that took down the entire squadron at once.

"Well, ain't that a fancy trick," Rygdea muttered as the group walked out from cover.

"The Twin Shiva Sisters, Stiria and Nix," Shu muttered. "Well, isn't he lucky. They're tough customers, though."

"Especially in his state," Fang said.

"They'll make it fair and heal him up. It's not like it makes 'em any nicer on him, though."

The first woman, Nix, summoned her wheel back to hover beside her, and the two rested just above the ground in front of the bewildered l'Cie.

"What's happening?" He muttered in shock, holding his hand over his brand.

The two woman turned, as if just noticing he was there. Each raised their arm in challenge, Nix's wheel following her hand's movement. The l'Cie stumbled to his feet quickly, taking up a battle stance, confused, but knowing they were looking for a fight.

Stiria instantly waved her hand and a dark aura surrounded the l'Cie for a moment. The screams of souls could be heard as they flew up from the Doom spell and the l'Cie could no doubt feel his life slowly draining away.

Nix leaned back in the air, her wheel hovering above her chest as she activated ATB Charge. The l'Cie went to attack her with Blizzard spells, but not a moment later, Nix instantly switched to offensive, slicing and spinning with her wheel to knock the tall man back. She swung her weapon upwards to launch him skyward, her wheel going to strike him and hold him in the air while he was helpless, and as he was coming down, she spun it around in a Pirouette to launch him once more.

She backed off, allow him to hit the ground and stand before moving in once more, Stiria throwing him a Curaga so that they could keep him alive long enough to see what he could do. This time, he was prepared. He went Sentinel and Steelguarded her combo, withstanding the strikes that had previously devastated him.

When Nix once more went into her ATB Charge, he went Ravager and tossed Blizzard spells at her, predicting when she was going offensive again and being prepared with Steelguard. As the fight went on, Nix began to mix it up, holding her ATB Charge for longer than necessary and tricking the l'Cie into letting his Steelguard down before attacking once more. She retaliated with a Wheel Grind, sending him flying back.

Stubborn, or perhaps determined, he rose once more. Seeing that he was still willing to fight, even as his time ran short from the Doom spell, Stiria threw him another Curaga and allowed him to continue the fight.

He managed to block Nix's wheel attack, before retaliating with a kick, and began gaining the upper hand. Yet he was still on a time limit, and began letting loose as a final desperate attack, and then, the will of the Shiva Sisters was finally under his command.

The two sisters flew together, a blink of power exchanged between them as they began to dance. Taking hands, their mechanical limbs flipped and twisted together until their bodies formed a motorcycle, the wheels on their heads now making a lot more sense to the amateur Eidolon observer.

The l'Cie jumped aboard his new ride, getting a feel of Eidolon's Gestalt mode before he dismounted and the sisters separated to disappear from whence they came, leaving a heart-shaped crystal with the l'Cie before it too vanished, ready to be used for summoning the Sisters when he next needed them.

The high of the battle wearing off, the l'Cie held his glowing brand, before he once more fell to the ground from exhaustion, and the group deemed it safe enough to come out.

"The Twin Sisters," Fang mussed, sandals clacking against the crystal lake below her. "I've gotta hand it to you for taking 'em down, but don't gloat just yet. Might come a time you wish you'd let 'em end it, and made things easy."

She aimed the tip of her lance to his face, and he rolled over with a grunt to see who his attacker was.

"More of you, huh?" He muttered.

"He's a l'Cie, all right," Shu said, walking up beside her. "Recently branded l'Cie of Anima."

"Take him," Fang ordered as the rest of their troop trained their weapons on him.

"Back off!"

Fang moved forward and kneeled in front of him. "You wanna keep breathing?" She put her finger under his chin. "Shut up and come quiet."

He shook her hand away stubbornly.

"Look, you're tough, kid," Shu said, kneeling down as well. "But you're in no position to argue here. Just be happy we're here to take you in rather than kill you on sight like the fellows before us. Fang?"

She reared back her arm and whacked him hard on the side of the neck. With his already weakened state, he fell to the crystal ground easily knocked out.

"Rygdea, bring the ship in for transport," Shu ordered. "The other l'Cie aren't on the lake anymore. We're done searching here. And we'd best bring that with us as well." He pointed to the crystalized woman who the l'Cie had been trying to dig out of the crystal. "The Watchdrones should be able to extract her. Do be careful, though. I don't want her crystal so much as scratched."

"Rodger," Rygdea saluted.

When the ship came in, the Watchdrones had successfully retrieved the woman from the crystal safely, and it took two of the soldiers to drag the tall l'Cie to the ship. He regained consciousness just as the woman's crystal went past, and instantly, his energy seemed to be renewed.

"Serah…Serah!"

He began to struggle to follow after her, and the soldiers trained their guns on him. "Shut it!" One ordered.

"Stand down," Shu quickly ordered, pushing his gun and him away. "We're not here to start unnecessary fights."

Fang jabbed a thumb towards the ship and the soldier holding up the l'Cie nodded, the two beginning to take him away. Just as Fang turned, he caught a glimpse of her frozen brand. Though it was different from a regular brand, it was undeniably Pulsian.

"You too?" He muttered. "Why are you helping them?"

"If I were you, I'd worry about myself," She called instead of answering.

With that, he was dragged off to the ship, though he didn't seem overly insistent on breaking free and trying to resist, maybe from weakness, maybe from curiosity of his captors, or a combination of the two.

"So, you know where the rest of 'em are now?" Fang asked.

Shu ran their hand through their hair. "I can definitely sense that they've left the lake. No doubt they're gonna make a pretty noisy escape, since they seem to be going at airship speed. They're heading towards the mountains. First, we should bring this one to our side and get him to help with the search. I'd assume he's acquainted with the rest of them, so his assistance would be welcome."

"I still don't get why you're having so much trouble tracking them."

"I'm rusty, all right? Give a gender non-binary guy a break. Besides, there's also something interfering with the signal, and that combined with being on unfamiliar land doesn't exactly add up in my favor. It's getting better with time, but it's just as frustrating to me as it is to you. I can say for sure that the one you're looking for has to be with them. There are no other Pulse l'Cie on this world besides their group."

"Then let's get this show on the road. You're looking for someone too, right?"

They smiled and nodded. "Right."

* * *

"Engines are online and stable!" Rei called. "The moment they activated we went on the radar! Gun it, Sazh!"

He did so, the airship taking off. As Rei predicted, other ships instantly converged on the l'Cie's as they ascended. Up above, numerous Skytanks were lined up and shining their lights down, preparing their main cannons. All at once, ten large beams were shot down into the depths, and they began striking the ship, causing it to veer off course and nearly smash into the sides of the chasm they were ascending.

"Awww no!" Sazh shouted.

"Give me that!" Lightning demanded, taking hold of the controls from Sazh and firing one of the ship's guns. An explosion took place above as Lightning shot down one of the Skytanks and cleared a path for them to pass.

"Did we get 'em?" Vanille called, sitting behind Sazh.

"We got  _one_  of them," Lightning corrected.

Multiple smaller ships were now firing at their aircraft, using the old "If I fire wildly, I gotta hit 'em eventually" logic.

"They're still behind us!" Hope shouted.

Lightning was trying to drive the ship, and Sazh was fighting her for the controls. "Stop that!"

The ship narrowly missed a building in the ruins they were flying above, Hope and Vanille screaming as the ship veered to the side, nearly struck another building, and the following ships shot it down in an instant.

"Hey! I said stop!" Sazh shouted as the two of them continued fighting over the ship's controls.

"Would you two please choose a pilot and fly straight?!" Sai shouted.

Sazh shoved Lightning off and took full control. "You  _want_  to die?"

Rei swiveled in her chair to hit the side of the ship. It glowed a moment before morphing into a control panel with a screen in front showing the outside of the ship and their pursuers. If one didn't know any better, it would've looked like an arcade game. "Sai, ready for some target practice?"

A similar control panel appeared at his side of the ship and he nodded, grabbing the controls. The two of them began to fire on the chasing ships as they rose out of the cover of the city and flew up the canyon. Despite Rei and Sai hitting numerous ships, they were now in the open and the ship was still jolting violently from explosions that barely missed the ship.

"How are you gonna lose them?!" Hope shouted.

"You've got me, kid!" Sazh said.

"Then let me!" Lightning yelled.

"No thank you!"

"Almost out!" Rei called. "Keep going!"

Finally reaching the top of the canyon, the group was temporarily blinded by daylight as they came out flying through the clouds. Despite the scenery, there was no time to admire it as blasts came firing through the clouds from the pursuers.

"They're still on us?!" Sazh exclaimed.

"On your left!" Rei called.

"Got it!" Sai said, shooting down three ships.

"Sazh, you're flying predictably!"

"We're taking hits!"

"Get us somewhere that limits their mobility!"

He flew down to a valley, skimming the water as he followed the river. The ships were forced to close in, flying carefully, and while that made it easier to keep them all behind the l'Cie's ship, it also made them easy targets as they were limited as well.

"Come on, give me a break!" Sazh complained.

"We got 'em!" Sai called.

He fired up into a section where the two sides of the canyon came together, and Sazh quickly flew under before the rocks collapsed. The remaining ships that were following all instantly crashed into the rubble, and it looked like they were the final pursuers.

They had made it past the PSICOM blockade. For now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How else is there to really describe the taming of an Eidolon? Sorry if I rushed through the fight and didn't make a dramatic battle of wills or something, but honestly, I'm not really sure how taming an Eidolon would work in real life without the Gestalt gauge and whatnot.
> 
> BTW, I call Fang's weapon a lance, not a spear, both because her initial weapon is called "Bladed Lance" and because I consider a lance to be double bladed, a blade on either side, while a spear only has one blade on one side, like Kimahri's weapon from FFX. Other people consider it the other way around, and frankly I admit I might be wrong, but that's how I grew up differentiating the two and weapons are weapons are weapons, who cares what they're called as long as you get the gist.


	6. Through Vile Peaks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Rei, what if we get separated?"
> 
> "Hm?"
> 
> "The war with Cocoon? What if we get separated? What if those vipers take either of us for whatever they want? This war is stupid. I don't get why Anima wants it. What if we lose? What would they do to us?"
> 
> "We'll be fine, Shu."
> 
> "But what if we're not?"
> 
> She looked down, realizing Shu was serious. She stared at the glowing plants in her hand and got an idea. "We'll find each other," She declared. "No matter how long it takes, I'll always come for you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooo, so many flashbacks this chapter, and obviously more to come.
> 
> Predictions? Have I made things too obvious?

"I think we're in the clear," Rei said. "For now, at least. Do we have a destination in mind, here?"

Sazh activated some of the ship's menus and began sifting through the data of the other PSICOM ships to see if there was somewhere they  _weren't_  expanding their search to. Eventually, it was far to complicated to read, and there didn't seem to be an easy destination to choose.

Sazh punched the controls in frustration, his head leaning forward to spark through the holographic screen. "Ugh! For the love of all that's good!"

He realized that he'd activated the news report and looked up in surprise to see the Pulse Vestige onscreen. The report began playing in front of all the seats, and it seemed to be talking about the Purge.

" _Next, an update on the status of the Purge. Just moments ago, the Sanctum announced the successful conclusion of the Purge, along with the safe arrival of the Cocoon migrants to their new homes on Pulse._ "

"Do they have a Cocoon town or something on Pulse?" Rei muttered. "I mean, do people really think they just dropped the people off on Pulse peacefully, expecting them to just live there like it's nothing? Pulse is 'hell', right? How does this government get away with such crap?"

"Brainwashing citizens over years, I guess," Sai said. "We've always grown up this way, taught that these things were right, and that things like this just happened, not to question it."

Sazh hit a button on the screen and it switched to an elderly man wearing ornate gold and white robes with a blue shawl crossing his chest. His headdress had gold ornamentation rising from the top and extended a transparent lavender veil over his head. The front of his robes were covered in gold jewelry, and he carried a white and gold staff bearing the emblem of the god Lindzei at the top with a coiling serpent.

" _Yes, that is correct,_ " He said. " _There's no denying the enormity of the strain the Purge placed on us all. But, given the tens of millions of lives at stake, there truly was no alternative._ "

" _Primarch Dysley stood by the move,_ " A reporter said, " _Stressing the necessity of the relocation. When asked about the possibility of future Purges, the Primarch remained noncommittal, stating only that he'd seek counsel with the fal'Cie Eden and weigh all options before making a decision._ "

"Yeah, that's right," Sazh muttered. "If it makes the Sanctum look bad, it never even happened."

Vanille tapped the screen once more to see more of this Dysley's speech.

" _In all the centuries since the War of Transgression, Cocoon has been spared Pulse aggression, and prospered for it. It is essential that we maintain this peace. That is the Sanctum's focus. We will continue employing every resource available to combat these threats to the harmony of our society._ "

"Meaning, we'll be running for the rest of our lives," Sazh said.

"At least until we turn Cie'th and get hunted down," Sai muttered.

"You are  _not_  turning Cie'th," Rei declared. "We'll…we'll figure something out."

"Hey," Vanille called. She pointed to the screen. "Umm, who is this guy?"

Sazh sighed. "I mean, what do they teach kids these days? He's Galenth Dysley. The Sanctum Primarch."

"Murderer-in-chief," Sai muttered.

"Just another tool of the fal'Cie," Lightning stated.

" _According to our insta-poll, nearly ninety percent of Cocoon citizens agree with the Sanctum's handling of the Purge. Seventy percent of respondents said they would also support additional Purges were the need to arise._ "

Rei sighed. "Let's Purge everybody! That'll fix it! Honestly, what a poisoned world this is."

Before anyone could say anything else, the alarms went off once more as another wave of Sanctum ships approached.

"Dammit," Rei muttered. "Sai, to the guns again! Another round."

Sazh took the controls and began another game of cat and mouse with a fleet of ships.

"Points for perseverance," Sazh muttered.

He flew into a blinding light, which revealed itself to be the fal'Cie Phoenix.

"Wow…" Vanille muttered.

"A Sanctum fal'Cie up close and personal," Sazh said. "Cocoon's own light in the sky."

The ship suddenly lurched from an attack. "Sazh, concentrate!" Rei shouted.

"Here we go again," He grumbled.

"Fly in!" Lightning suggested. "We'll lose 'em in there."

Sazh did so, flying into the currents of energy surging from the fal'Cie. The tendrils of electricity surged through the air, destroying a pursuing ship in one blow.

"I like this fal'Cie!" Sazh announced.

"Don't get your hopes up!" Sai warned.

Just as he said that, the tendrils began to swerve in the way of the l'Cie's ship, not directly destroying them, but one clipped the back of the ship, casing it to plummet to the ground far below.

"Hold on!" Rei shouted.

She held out her hands and they sparked for a moment. "Come on, come on!" She poured more energy into her task, and as the ground approached, she willed a barrier around each of the l'Cie.

The ship hit the ground with a jolt, there was smashing glass, exploding engines, and everyone went flying from the force. Keeping the barriers connected, all of them went flying out the front window and onto the ground as the ship went up in flames.

* * *

" _Rei._ "

" _Hm?_ "

" _Oh, hey. Good. You're up._ "

" _Shu?_ "

" _The one and only!" They said proudly_.

 _She grabbed her pillow and whacked them in the face. "Go away! I want sleep!_ "

" _And I wanna go watch Bismarck eat a Zirnitra!_ "

" _Then go and leave me in peace!_ "

" _Not a chance. You are coming with!_ "

 _So they dragged her out of bed and she grumbled the entire way to the springs. "You should cut your hair. And pick a gender. And eat more chicken. And get more friends. And hobbies. And let me sleep until high sun._ "

" _I let you do that anyway! And I_ like _my hair this long! And you can't make me choose a gender! And I have lots of friends! And hobbies! And chicken hasn't been invented yet!_ "

" _I'm going to invent it just so that you can._ "

 _They sat at the water's edge, Bismarck swimming in the water below. Rei kicked her toes into the water, making gentle ripples while playing with the bioluminescent plants and putting them in her hair. She eventually ran out of hair and started braiding them into Shu's. They were annoyed the first time she had done it all those years ago - worried that she would hurt their precious hair - but they eventually got used to it and figured if it made her happy, they were fine with it_.

" _Rei, what if we get separated?_ "

" _Hm?_ "

" _The war with Cocoon? What if we get separated? What if those vipers take either of us for whatever they want? This war is stupid. I don't get why Anima wants it. What if we lose? What would they do to us?_ "

" _We'll be fine, Shu._ "

" _But what if we're not?_ "

 _She looked down, realizing Shu was serious. She stared at the glowing plants in her hand and got an idea. "We'll find each other," She declared. "No matter how long it takes, I'll always come for you._ "

 _She slipped one of the flowers around their wrist and another around their middle finger. "I promise." She put her finger to the glowing plant on their wrist, and it shimmered before disappearing. "Just in case someone tries to take them away." She held out her bundle of flora. "Now do you promise me?_ "

 _They stared at her in surprise before taking the plants and repeating what she'd done for them. "Okay. I promise._ "

" _Good. Now, let's go see if Bismarck wants to race to Oerba!_ "

* * *

Rei woken to the sound of flames crackling.

Opening her eyes, she saw her glowing bracelet peeking out from the cuff she had on her right wrist, still sealed onto her after all these years. Slipping it back into place - hidden, so that no one could ever try and take it from her - she sat up and looked around.

Everyone had made it out of the airship intact, and Lightning was already getting up, holding her head for a moment before noticing the unconscious Hope beside her.

She reached over and put her hand on his shoulder. "Hey."

"Pantherons!" Rei announced.

Lightning was instantly on her feet as a pack of them jumped over to the group. The others were still knocked out, so Lightning drew her gunblade and charged in. Rei drew her gold sword - Kogane - and grabbed Sai's sword - Shirogane - since he was knocked out and it  _was_  hers to begin with.

Lightning Blitzed the pack and Rei slashed at the remaining two that stayed out of range. More Pantherons jumped over the rocks to fight, a larger pack than before, and Vanille woke up just in time to see the commotion.

She gasped and shook Sazh awake. "Hey! Wake up!" She moved to Hope once Sazh was conscious. "You've gotta wake up!" She moved to Sai. "Hey! Come on!" Vanille pointed frantically towards the fight. "Look!"

When Sazh saw what was up, Vanille rushed forward. "Hey! Slow down!" Sazh scrambled to his feet and drew his pistols while Vanille drew her rod.

"Ready!" She said.

"Gotta keep you kids safe, right?" Sazh added.

Sai reached for his sword, before realizing he didn't have it, and deciding to stay back and guard Hope. He still had his dagger in case of emergencies as well as magic, after all.

Vanille and Sazh stared throwing fire spells, while Lightning and Rei straight up attacked. Rei's striking speed double with her two blades, and she shredded through the pack that dared challenge her in an instant. Lightning was cleaning house on the other side of the battlefield, it only took a couple fire spells to take down the rest of them.

Once the Pantherons were down, Vanille instantly sighed loudly in exhaustion from using magic so soon after the crash. "Glad that's over!"

She went over to sit down, and Sazh joined her with a huff. "Man, I'm beat."

Lightning sheathed her weapon and instantly began walking off.

"What, no break?" Sazh called.

"They're tracking us," She said.

"I know that. I know that, but we aren't soldiers! We don't have your kind of stamina."

"You've got enough to complain," She retorted before continuing.

"Oh, that's-!" He threw his arms up in exasperation. "Forget it!"

"Well, I don't know about her, but  _this_  soldier is all for a break," Sai said, sitting down.

"Lazy bum," Rei scolded with a smile.

"That's me," He said proudly.

Hope walked up with his hands together nervously. "I think, um…" He looked to Lightning's direction, not wanting to offend them by leaving, but knowing Lightning was a better choice if he wanted to survive.

"I'd stick with her if I were you," Sazh said.

He nodded. "Later, then." He hurried after Lightning.

"I'm going forward," Rei said. "Catch up when you're all rested."

Rei walked after Hope over a couple bridges and seeing that Lightning had scaled a large metal cylinder. Luckily, it was like a large, cylindrical gear, and so each side could be used like a ladder. Hope wasn't exactly an athlete, but in was still doable. Rei put her hands together and ordered Hope to step in her palms so that she could boost him up.

Vanille sighed and stood, getting the bounce back in her step. "Come on. Let's get going."

"Get going to where, exactly?" Sazh asked, watching as Hope worked to keep his balance and grab one of the trapezoidal spokes from the wheel for purchase. "The whole of Cocoon's against us. No matter how far we run, there's no escape. That Cie'th clock, it's still a-tickin'."

"There's still time," Vanille reminded him. "You give up too easy, old man!"

"I'm not giving up. But there are some things that you just can't change."

Hope made it over the cylinder to the other side, jumping to the ground, though not exactly landing on his feet. More like landing on his feet and then falling to his hands and knees, gathering his energy again, and then standing. Rei leaped up to one of the spokes pushed off it with one foot and then made it to the top. She waved before hoping down to the other side and hurrying after Hope and Lightning.

"A kid like you would not understand," Sazh finished.

"Yeah, I'm a kid," Vanille huffed, crossing her arms. "I don't understand!"

"Nope. I'm a young, naïve kid and I shall remain so forevermore," Sai stated proudly.

Sazh sighed and stood with a grunt. "Well, I guess we can be fugitives together."

"Whoo!" Sai jumped to his feet.

"You ready?" Sazh asked her.

She nodded. "Ready!"

She then proceeded to push Sazh forward towards the bridge to follow the others. "Whoa, hey!" Sai laughed and ran after. They walked to the bridge leading up to the cylinder that Hope had scaled and Rei had basically just jumped right over, but just as Sai began walking across, said cylinder began to roll down the bridge. As the bridge wasn't supported for something so heavy, it instantly collapsed and fell into the water below, and Sai barely had enough time to jump off if it wasn't for his fast reflexes.

"Oh no…" Vanille muttered.

"End of the road," Sazh sighed.

"But at least it's not the end of the line," Sai said. "Look, that way. We might find a way to meet up with them if we hurry."

"Uh, didn't Rei have your sword?" Sazh asked.

Sai checked his sheath and realized he was right, before groaning. "Just great."

* * *

_**Day 11** _

_**The Seaside City of Bodhum** _

* * *

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

"You and Farron, soldier. Come on."

"Think you're in trouble?" Rei whispered.

"Ha, ha, very funny," Sai snapped.

"Oh, you're  _fine._ "

They followed Amodar through the crowds of people to find Lightning staring up at the fireworks. Amodar walked up briskly, sneaking up on her in her distraction.

"You look dreamy, Farron." He looked to the dome of color. "Wishing of fireworks, were you?" He chuckled, trying for a serious face and failing. "And you call yourself a soldier!"

Amodar was always a man who had a casual side to his toughness as a Lieutenant. Still, he was one of those guys that was great when he was nice, and terrifying when he wasn't.

Lightning looked down with a small embarrassed smile before saluting with her arm in front of her chest. "Sorry, Lieutenant. But I really don't think guard duty is my calling, sir." She bowed slightly.

"Funny, that's what Sai here said too." He poked her in the forehead and to stand up straight again. "Lucky for you two, your shifts just ended. Pack it up and go home."

"What?" Sai asked, looking around. "But, sir…"

"PSICOM found something in the Vestige nearby," He said seriously. "They don't want the Guardian Corps here stepping on their toes. I'm sure you heard about the accident at the Euride Gorge energy plant, and how it has the PSICOM lads in a tizzy."

Standing at the edge of the crowd, a PSICOM officer was standing in full armor, gun at the ready.

"Yeah," Lightning said. "More 'incident' than accident. Something Pulse-related?"

Rei looked to the sand of the beach, and Sai took her hand, smiling with an 'It'll be fine' look.

Amodar chuckled, changing the subject. "You're taking tomorrow off?"

"Sir," Lightning said. "For my birthday, sir. My sister, she insisted on it."

"Twenty-one, huh? Maybe it's a good time to send off that letter of recommendation for officer training."

Lightning turned to him in surprise. "Lieutenant…"

"You're past due for a promotion, Farron. Sai here got the offer last week but turned it down. Said you were the one who really deserved it more than him. Can't say I disagreed with him."

She looked to Sai and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, plus I like it here, and honestly I don't understand why you hadn't been promoted already. So why not?"

She nodded to him. "Thanks."

Lightning and Sai had worked together, but it wasn't like they'd been formally introduced nor became friends. Both were the type of people who didn't walk up to others to make friends and preferred being alone when they could be, so naturally, like magnets, the two negatives repelled each other even further than they repelled anyone else.

"Think of your sister, and your future," Amodar continued. "And, uh, keep your nose out of trouble."

"Out of PSICOM business, you mean."

"Yeah. Nothing good will come of it. Nothing but grief."

He turned to the fireworks and pointed. "Whoa! Look at that one!" He chuckled as the crowds exclaimed as well.

"Come on," Sai said, pulling Rei away.

"What are they gonna do?" She asked when they were out of earshot.

"I'm not sure. But like he said, it can't be good."

"They're gonna destroy Anima." Sai didn't say anything, and she knew he couldn't find an argument. "It's not even her fault! We were taken here against our wills! If she just had a little more time she might be able to gather the energy to escape or hide, but…but Anima has always been headstrong. She probably has the power now to escape, but she wants to make a scene, cause all the trouble she can for this planet, whether it means she's gonna die for it or not. She'd rather go out with a bang than a whimper."

"Do you wanna try and save her?"

"There nothing either of us could do, not against the government. All that would do is get us both caught and we'd face the same fate."

He wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

She sighed. "It's not your fault. I just hope her discovery doesn't lead to suspicion in this place."

"I'll keep you safe. It's the least I can do."

"Isn't that my line?"

"You can repay me once all this blows over. I won't let those government guys get ahold of you."

"We'll just have to hope that it  _does_  blow over without incident."

"PSICOM works quickly, especially when it comes to Pulsian stuff. They want to make sure they look good, and they get rid of all the scary stuff fast so the people don't freak. Three days. We stay safe for three days, and then we can relax."

 _Three days. That's all we needed. If things had gone as planned, he might have been right. But after three days, instead of relaxing, I was on my way to the Purge, the very thing we were trying to avoid, and our hopes of ever having the life we wanted were shattered forever_.

* * *

Walking up behind Lightning, she stopped in her tracks with Rei and Hope behind her. "Just you two?"

"For now, I guess," Hope said. "Should we wait?"

"They'll catch up. Eventually."

She walked forward, leaving no room for debate that they were moving forward. All around them were scraps of metal, mountains of dirt and scrap, the junkyard seemingly going on farther than they could see.

"All the junk around here came from Pulse, didn't it?" Hope asked.

"Really?" Rei asked.

She looked around, examining the shrapnel as they walked past. "I suppose it does look Pulsian," She admitted.

"This stuff is what was left over from the scrap the fal'Cie took from Pulse to repair Cocoon," Hope explained.

"Where did you learn that?" Rei asked.

"I pay attention in school," He said simply.

"What are children being taught these days?" She muttered.

Around the area were some PSICOM teams and monsters, such as packs of Pantherons, Thexterons, and Watchdrones. A pack of Watchdrones proved to be tough customers, but Hope came in with some Synergist action with some Protect spells that seriously helped with the hard-hitting machines. There were even some old Pulsian machines in the area that were active, like Pulsework Soldiers.

After scaling down a large cliff face, Hope was breathing heavily and had to sit down. Lightning was examining another large wall of rock that gave way to a wall of metal beneath. One could see the gears turning in her mind as she plotted a course up using some of the protruding and exposed pieces of metal.

"Can we get through this way, you think?" Hope asked. "You…know where you're going, right?"

"I've…been here on mission before," Lightning said.

"Missions? Nothing to do with the Purge, though?"

"The Purge is PSICOM's baby," She instantly protested, before turning and beginning to climb some of the rock in front of the metal wall. "Our military is split into two arms. The Public Security and Intelligence Command, known as PSICOM, and the Guardian Corps." She turned back around to Hope. "I was Guardian Corps, Bodhum Security Regiment."

"I just signed up recently," Rei admitted. "Sai got me a job there. He worked pretty high up in the ranks too."

Hope sat forward. "Wait, but I don't get it. If you're not PSICOM, then why did you board the train?"

"For Serah."

"Sai."

* * *

**_Day 13_ **

**_Bodhum Station_ **

* * *

"Join the end of the line!" An officer ordered.

"Attention Purge deportees. Follow instructions, and stay in your lines. Personal belongings will be returned upon arrival."

Taking a deep breath, Rei walked up to the station. She had to do this. Things were simple enough. Just get into the line, do what all the other people were doing, and board the train. Wait until they arrived, escape the other deportees unnoticed, and then head to the Vestige.

Nevermind that she was walking right into the Sanctum's grasp and she could be caught at any moment. She owed Sai so much for everything he'd done fore her and how does she repay it? By letting him get taking into Anima's Vestige without being able to do a damn thing.

Damn the risks, she was going to save him.

"You! Halt!"

A pair of people ran past the warrior as she entered the station, and all of the soldiers had their guns trained. Three gave chase before opening fire, the crowd exclaiming in horror.

"Do not leave your lines!" One of the soldiers bellowed. "This is for your own safety!"

Rei breathed again, trying to remain calm. These people were getting taken to Pulse, killed one way or another. None of these people knew how to fight and survive in a harsh land. Even if they stayed on the Sanctum's good side long enough to get to Pulse alive, they wouldn't survive a day in the rough and tough world below.

Just as she was gathering her courage once more, a pink-haired soldier walked past briskly up to the soldier in charge. Rei recognized her. What had Amodar and Sai called her? Farron? Lightning? Was Lightning a code name or something?

Curiosity getting the best of her, Rei walked up behind her to the soldier. He looked to her shoulder where her Guardian Corps identification shoulder plate was, along with her Sergeant badge.

"Huh? What's a GC doing here? This op's under PSICOM direction."

"So direct me," She said. "Let me on. I want to be Purged."

"Me as well," Rei said. "We are together." Thankfully, Lightning gave no reaction of surprise and didn't deny it.

The soldier sighed and looked around before leaning in. "Only civs get Purged. Sanctum staff and soldiers are exempt."

Lightning removed her gunblade from its sheath and handed it over to the soldier. "Then we quit." She nodded to Rei, who passed over her sword as well.

Sighing in resignation - because honestly, what reason was there to  _stop_  someone who  _wanted_  to be Purged? - he took on his serious demeanor again. "Line up."

The two turned and went to the end of the line. "Thank you," Rei said.

"For what?"

"I guess…helping me through that and going along with it. I never would've been able to be so bold."

"You clearly know what you're getting yourself into. You're the friend of Sergeant Sai, right? He was taken along with Serah while trying to help her. I take it you're close."

"I owe him my life ten times over. I'd be lost without him. This is nothing compared to all the things that I would do for him."

"Hope you're ready for a fight when we arrive."

"You'll find I am competent at combat, even if I only joined the Guardian Corps a week ago."

"I believe you on that. You're a warrior if there ever was one. That's obvious enough."

"Can we come to a mutual agreement to work together to get to the Vestige?"

"With pleasure."

A man in an afro and a green army coat with a pilot badge on his shoulder slipped out of line to join the two of them.

"Excuse me," He whispered. "Hey, ladies. What gives?"

"We volunteered," Lightning said simply.

"Really? You don't look ready to go quiet into that good night."

"If you want quiet, you'd better take the next train."

Lightning stepped forward with the line, and Sazh chuckled. "Well, now I really want to see what you're up to."

Rei walked forward as well, following Lightning's lead, and walking through the machine to get changed into the robes for deportees.

* * *

"I had to rescue Serah before they transported the Vestige to Pulse, and out of my reach," Lightning explained. "My only chance to save her was to join the Purge."

"I wasn't really sure of the path to the Vestige, but I figured that the train was taking people the same place as the Vestige: to Pulse," Rei explained. "Whether or not the government had other ideas underneath, it was the closest I was going to get to the thing before I inevitably got caught. In the end, it seemed like the wisest course of action, and the chaos of the Purge proved to be the better option as opposed to trying to sneak into the Vestige beforehand, as it was under heavy supervision by the Sanctum."

"You're telling me you got on that train so you could save your sister and your friend?" Hope's head fell with a small scoff. "That's crazy. I could never do something like that."

"It's not really a question of can or can't."

"There are some things in life you just do," Lightning agreed.

"Whether you believe you'll succeed or not, you push through, because you'd never forgive yourself if you stood by and did nothing."

"Easy for someone like you two to say."

Lightning looked to him before sighing and briskly making her way up the wall of metal, careful to avoid stray sparks of electricity.

"Lightning!" Hope called.

She ignored him and easily scaled the final few bounds up the cliff and walked out of view.

"No, Hope," Rei said. "It isn't easy at all. Not for me, at least."

She moved to sit down on the rock beside the cliff, Hope sighing in relief at the realization that she wasn't going to leave him as well. "There was no other way to go forward for me. When you have nothing left to lose, it's easy to say I can walk forward without fear. I lost everything I had. I put a goal in front of me, and I walked down that path. I don't know where I'm gonna go now, but I know that there's a path in front of me. I don't know where it leads, and frankly, I'm not very interested in that fact. I keep my problems in front of me to deal with."

He sighed and sat back down. "But the l'Cie thing…" He looked to his brand, half hidden by a little yellow scarf around his wrist. "It's not like we can just brute force our way out of this."

"It's a problem all right. I went to that Vestige to make sure Sai  _didn't_  get turned l'Cie, and in the end, even though I arrived in time and he hadn't been branded already, we walked right into Anima's clutches and she branded him anyway. Worst part was, I was there. If he'd been branded before I'd arrived, maybe I'd have no one but the fal'Cie to blame, but since I  _was_  there, I'm the one bearing that burden. It's annoying, it sucks, and the guilt will eat away at your soul from the inside out."

"How can you be so calm about that?"

"I don't know. It's a trait of mine. I'm worried, yeah, but I have to believe things will work themselves out. I don't like putting my fate in someone else's hands, but…you know, Sai taught me that there are some people out there I can put my faith in."

"Everyone on Cocoon's against us. We've got no one, and we're running with no direction, no future."

"If we've got time to mope, we've got time to hope. Or so a friend of mine used to say. We keep moving forward, and we'll cross those bridges when we get to them. All right?"

Hope grunted in acknowledgement, but sat in silence, staring at the ground. Rei sighed and looked up the cliff. For a kid named Hope, he sure lacked his namesake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I call Vanille's weapon a rod because her default weapon is a "Binding Rod." If rod doesn't seem right, consider that her other weapons are wands and staffs. Personally, I find that rod fits the bill better than either of those two.
> 
> Also, I refer to Anima as a she because in Final Fantasy X, Anima is a girl, and I like Final Fantasy X.


	7. Paths to Take

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hey! Welcome to the party!" Sazh greeted.
> 
> "You miss us?" Vanille added.
> 
> Lightning just scoffed and walked off.
> 
> "Would it kill her to smile?" Sazh muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ever realize that the more you type the word "Whoa," the less it looks like a word? That just me? You'll understand once you've read the chapter.
> 
> Review!
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Etc!

"Now the robots are fighting each other?" Vanille asked.

"Watchdrones and Pulsework Soldiers," Sai said. "The Watchdrones are Sanctum and are probably here to try and contain the Pulsian machines."

"Think we can sneak past?" Vanille suggested.

"There's a big metal thing blocking the path," He pointed out. "Those fighting guys are next to a machine that might be able to do something about it."

Sazh sighed and drew his pistols. "Let's get this over with."

Vanille drew her rod and Sai settled for his dagger. Surprisingly, as they ran into the fray, not one of the enemies seemed to notice them. The Watchdrones were all ganging up on the Pulsework Soldier with their fast and powerful hits, but the tank of the Pulsian machine took the hits with ease. Though it was slower at retaliating, it hit pretty hard, and the two were whittling each other down slowly but surely.

Even as the group began throwing spells from a safe distance, the machines didn't even feel as they kept their focus on each other. Taking the smart move, the three l'Cie went for the Watchdrones first, as the Pulsework soldier was a piece of work, but it was slower than the three Watchdrones. Even as the Watchdrone went down, the other's attention stayed on the Pulsework soldier. Once all three were down, the soldier then turned on the l'Cie, but it was already weakened from the Watchdrones' assault, so it was easy to dispatch.

"Well that went well," Sai muttered.

"Now let's hope this machine's still in working condition," Sazh said, walking up to said machine and examining it. "Never seen a rig like this before."

He rubbed the back of his head before taking his best shot at tapping some buttons and then pulling a lever. The machine whirred to life, glowing with blue lights and crackling electricity before a wire with a disk at the end shot out and latched onto the large metal cylinder that was blocking the path. It then began to reel in the large piece of scrap.

"Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Sazh exclaimed, seeing the thing being dragged their way.

Then, once the wire had fully retracted back into the machine, it shut off, the metal stopping at the machine as well. "…I knew that would happen…"

Sai laughed before walking around the newly-moved chunk of metal. The Pulsework Soldiers were taking a good deal of the attention from the mechanical PSICOM monsters around the area, and so it was just a case of rinsing and repeating the fights.

Walking through a tunnel-like metal cylinder, they came to the end to find the other exit blocked by a heap of metal, far too heavy to be lifted by them, and to high and dangerous to try and climb over and risk bringing down all the metal onto their heads. Luckily, another machine panel seemed to be online.

"Why not?" Sai shrugged and pressed a few buttons. "Better stand back."

A large metal piece that spanned the diameter of the tunnel's exit began to twitch, and Sazh looked forward in confusion. Then, it began to spin full circle, throwing the chunks of metal away with a groan and crash, dust being thrown everywhere, before the machine lost whatever power it had left and deactivated.

Sazh was understandably terrified by the sudden and booming action, and rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, piece of cake…"

Confirming that the fan-like blade wasn't going to activate again, they hurried through to find more fights between Thexterons and a Pulsework Soldier.

"Cocoon treats everything from Pulse as evil, doesn't it?" Vanille asked as they walked.

"That's what the population has been pushed to believe," Sai admitted. "I don't really care much for Pulse stuff. Never believed what I couldn't see with my own eyes, and as far as I'm aware, Pulse isn't dangerous. Just different."

"Hey! Hope!" She ran forward to indeed find Hope sitting on a rock, and Rei sitting against a small distance away against a cliff sharpening her sword, Lightning nowhere in sight.

The three of them hurried up, and Vanille smiled, slightly winded from the previous battles and hike. "We made it!"

"Where's Grumpy?" Sazh asked.

"She went that way," Rei said, pointing up the cliff behind her.

"She just ditched you guys?" Sai asked.

"Not like Hope's a gymnast, and there's no way I'd leave him alone to fend for himself."

"Got left behind, huh?" Sazh asked, walking up to put his hand on Hope's shoulder.

The moment he did, however, Hope shot to his feet and shoved him away. "Leave me alone!"

"Hey!"

Hope turned and took a few steps away. "This is pointless. Can't keep up. Can't get home. It's over for me."

Vanille rushed to stand in front of him and held up a fist encouragingly. "It's  _not_  over," She insisted. "We'll get you home!"

"I don't have one. Now that Mom is…"

"What about your dad?" Sai asked.

* * *

**_Day 11_ **

**_The Seaside City of Bodhum_ **

* * *

"Did you have any family?" Sai asked.

"I had  _someone_  very close to me. But really, everyone back home was family."

"Mom…you still believe in that kind of stuff?" A kid asked a little ways away. "Wishing on fireworks? Really? That's for little kids."

His mother wrapped her arms around him playfully. "Who you calling 'kid'?" She laughed.

He chuckled. "You."

"What about parents?" Sai asked as they walked past.

"None that I know of. It was always just me and my friend. I would chase them around the fields whenever they picked a fight, but we would always just end up lying in the grass, laughing our heads off. We would go to the springs and swim in the pools of water under the waterfalls, splashing water at each other until someone nearly drowned and the attacker instantly apologized, only to get a face full of water the next moment. I always played with my friend's hair, tying in flowers and trying to brush the lion's mane every day. At night, we would head to villages where we were welcomed home. Life was so simple."

"Do you miss it?"

She scoffed. "Of course I do. But that life is long gone by now, I'd assume."

"What if it's not?"

"Then it'd be some kind of impossible miracle. Anyway, I like it here. You've welcomed me just as my own family would have. I'd like to be apart of your family as well, if it wouldn't be too much trouble."

"No, none at all."

* * *

"That night, they found the fal'Cie in the Bodhum Vestige," Hope explained. "The next day, soldiers sealed off the town and we couldn't get back to Palumpolum. They forced us onto the train with everyone else. My mom, she was frantic. She wanted to get us home, so she tried to fight."

Vanille walked up to try and comfort him, but he turned and reeled on her. "She got tricked, by Snow! He used her!"

Vanille took a step back at his outburst. "Let's get you home, okay? Your dad's gotta be worried!"

"Let him worry." Hope turned angrily. "Why should I care? He doesn't."

"Any father cares," Sazh muttered.

"Sazh?" Vanille asked, noticing him looking down in thought.

"I-It's nothing, forget it."

He turned and scoured the area for another machine that might help, while Rei and Vanille hurried over to Hope to comfort him and pull him to Sazh and Sai, who'd found a machine and were examining it.

Sazh pushed a lever. "This ought to do it."

The machine flashed to life, shooting out another disk and wire to pull out another large metal ramp-like thing that led up to a good foothold in the cliff that worked like a staircase.

"Well ain't that convenient?" Rei muttered.

"The Sanctum's sent scout teams here before," Sai reminded her. "They've probably got a few little things here and there that can help us get around."

"We've got time," Sazh said. "We'll get you back home. Your dad will be happy to see you."

Climbing up the makeshift staircase, they made it up and continued onward after Lightning, meeting some more Pulsework soldiers and seeing tons more scrap metal. Hope was learning to cast some Ravager spells, as well as some defensive Synergist spells, like Protect and Shell. Though he was the most hesitant in the fights, he was learning.

"Yo, can I have my sword back?" Sai asked.

"Here, I made you copies of mine," Rei said, handing two swords, one gold, one silver, to him, the only difference from hers being that the ribbons tied around them were deep red. "Use them well. I don't give my swords to everyone, you know."

Looking up at the husk of what must've been a Pulse airship, Hope spotted to monsters standing atop the high piles of metal and dirt. "There's something up there!"

The creatures stood on one foot with the other up like a dancer, and they swayed their wing-like arms to a beat as well. They had bird-like claws and faces as well, so it wasn't hard to assume they had a running theme. They jumped down, and when they spotted the group, they dropped their one legs to use it in aiding their speed as they zipped over to the ground lightning-quick.

The creatures, Incubuses, spun around to kick with their raised feet, spinning in the opposite directions for another hit, and finished off by slamming downwards vertically, before then hopping back. As the group battered them with spells - Vanille working on her Saboteuring ability to debuff the enemies with Deprotect and Deshell while Hope worked on his Synergistic buffing - the Incubus's let out noises that sounded like kinda like flutes as they were attacked.

With a cry of defeat, the demons were defeated, and the group moved on to what looked to be the heart of the junkyard, filled to the brim with larger remnants of Pulsian technology, some of it even still active thanks to the Sanctum's teams having made a few improvements here and there to keep the place accessible for missions and whatnot.

"Isn't that a…?" Vanille began.

"A warship from Pulse," Rei finished.

"You mean, they made it this far?"

Sazh waved a dismissive hand. "Of course not. Not during the war, not since. They might have tried, but none of their forces made it into Cocoon. They only damaged the outer rim. Then the Sanctum's fal'Cie pushed them back. What, did you sleep through History?"

Vanille giggled. "More or less."

"There was only one fal'Cie on the Pulsian side, anyway," Rei said. "It's not like Pulse really stood a chance in the first place, when they initiated the war."

Hope looked to her. "How would you know that?"

"I…I looked into the government files. A girl gets curious, all right?"

"So, what's a ship from Pulse doing here?" Vanille asked.

"Once the war was over, people couldn't live near the rim anymore," Hope explained. "In places like the Hanging Edge. So the fal'Cie, they gathered up scrap from Pulse, and used it for rebuilding here."

"This is what was left," Sai continued. "A bunch of garbage."

"Who'da thunk?" Sazh mused. "A Pulse fal'Cie and who-knows-what, mixed in with all the trash?"

Vanille looked down. "Who'da thunk…"

"You never know," Rei said. "If the Sanctum fal'Cie let a Pulse fal'Cie slip by their senses, I wouldn't call them a very good protection against Pulse forces."

"Same thing with the PSICOM dudes applies too," Sai added. "They haven't fought a war in centuries. May be pretty rusty at this point."

"Either way, it means that we still have a chance to get out of here before they catch us."

"I'm gonna go peak ahead!" Vanille announced.

The rest of them tried to hurry after her. "Do me a favor," Sazh requested. "Stop wandering off and stay where I can keep my eye on you."

They made their way through the rocky terrain, Hope showing he was actually really good with his magic, despite not being able to hit very hard physically. There were numerous Pulsework Soldiers, along with Incubuses, and even a Succubus, which glowed purple and did a Heretic Dance while the Incubuses went on the offensive to buy it time, and when it finished, it threw out it's wings and it's purple aura expanded outwards in a whoosh to inflict Deprotect, knocking Vanille back from it. Rei was quick to throw an Esuna, and the process repeated as they took the group down as well.

As they walked past a large mound of - surprise, surprise - more junk, Lightning suddenly jumped down.

"Hey! Welcome to the party!" Sazh greeted.

"You miss us?" Vanille added.

Lightning just scoffed and walked off.

"Would it kill her to smile?" Sazh muttered, Vanille putting her hands to her hips.

"Better keep up with her," Rei announced.

"Time to move!" Lightning agreed, running forward.

"Okay!" Vanille called, hurrying after.

"At least we're all together again," Sai said.

Lightning was clearly not in a good mood, whether it be from determination, or from having to tolerate Vanille's perkiness, Sazh's quirkiness, and Hope's sullenness, and so she plowed through the enemies seemingly with a vengeance.

Pulsework Soldiers didn't stand a chance, especially once they'd been staggered up. When they encountered another Succubus, it did a Subversive Dance, this time glowing with a brighter orange to bestow Bravery upon itself, though Lightning wailed on it before it could properly use said buff. Though it was pretty, it was dead within seconds.

Sazh activated a few machines, including a cool staircase. "Just need to get through here," Lightning muttered, referencing a group of Pulsework Soldiers, Succubuses and Incubuses all together.

"Oh, this'll be fun," Rei muttered.

"Let's party," Sai agreed.

Once they'd finally taken that fun group of enemies down, Lightning rushed ahead, barely winded. "Hurry up!"

"Yes mistress," Sai muttered.

Rei elbowed him. "Keep up, lazy bum!"

When they finally did catch up to her, they found a large pile of junk and no path forward. "What do you suppose that is?" Lightning asked.

Walking up to it, the pile of junk began to shake and then a good deal of it was flung away to reveal a large machine, glowing with power and raring to fight.

"What is that?" Sai asked.

"Pulse armament," Rei said, drawing her sword.

The machine raised its large arm and shot it forward, breaking through the final piles of metal that had been covering it, before slowly stomping forward towards the group.

"And that's bad for us, isn't it?" Sazh asked.

"You have eyes, don't you?" Lightning responded.

The machine raised its arm and then thrust it forward, knocking Sazh and Rei back with great force. Rei went to healing the damage, as Lightning straight up attacked the thing, Sai and Vanille threw some spells, Hope went to casting Protect and Shell, and Sazh cast Bravery, Faith, and the Vigilance.

Vanille moved to casting Deprotect and Deshell, Rei kept the party healed from the hard attacks, while everyone else focused on throwing all the spells they could at it for a stagger. The Dreadnought them steadied itself and began to release a billow of steam from beneath where it's head might be.

"What's it doing?" Sai asked.

"Removing Vanille's status ailments," Rei answered. "But that does keep it from attacking us for a while. Keep at it!"

Lightning took the opportunity to do as much damage as she could while the status ailments remained, doing significant damage while doing so. When the Dreadnought finished, it turned towards Lightning and raised its arms, its main body sliding forward to put weight behind it when it slammed down upon her.

Vanille used its distraction to throw on her debuffs once more to make use of them before they were removed and to distract the Dreadnought from attacking when it tried to remove them, and Hope worked to heal Lightning. Everyone began throwing their spells again to build the stagger, Vanille powering through another attack of the Dreadnought before it glowed gold.

Now it flinched to all attacks, and the group battered it with spells to keep it flinching. Lightning and Rei went to work on physically attacking, and if spells were strong when staggered, their attacks were devastating.

The Dreadnought lifted its body to reveal a Wrecking Ball, glowing with electricity and humming as it charged up.

"Get down!" Rei shouted.

The others scattered as she held up a barrier to take the blast. Her barrier held, but the force of the attack took down the metal panels they had been standing on, sending them falling into the cavern below. Sazh, Hope, and Vanille let out shouts of surprise, the fall not long but still a good twenty feet or more.

"Thought we were goners," Sazh muttered. "You all right?"

"I think so," Vanille said, rising.

"Good as I can be," Sai grunted.

"Incoming!" Lightning shouted.

The Dreadnought jumped down into the cavern with a boom, advancing on the group once more, ready for round two.

The machine raised its arm, but instead of attacking, it swung past the group, letting out a wave of flame, instead, before sweeping the area with its other arm as well. Vanille worked to throw her debuffs on again, while Hope handled healing the burns. Lightning and Sai threw their magic attacks while Rei took up the role of attacking, and Sazh went Synergist and threw his enhancements again, Hope doing the same once he'd finished healing.

The Dreadnought let out another wave of flame, but this time, Hope's Shell protected them from the worst of it, and they began throwing more spells at the machine to build its stagger.

The mechanical monster then raised its body to reveal its Wrecking Ball once more. It shot at Vanille, but the Wrecking Ball exploded on impact, hitting Sazh, Hope, and Sai as well - Lightning and Rei being behind the Dreadnought attacking it and out of range.

Thankfully, the Dreadnought then began a Steam Clean, allowing Vanille and Hope to heal everyone up. Once the Steam Clean was done, Vanille moved to throw her debuffs on once more, and the group resumed pummeling the machine with spells to stagger it, powering through another fire-wave attack before the mech glowed golden once more.

Lightning and Rei hit the machine hard with their physical attacks, Sai joining in on the action, while Sazh, Vanille, and Hope continued with their spells to increase the chain and allow the attackers to do even  _more_ damage. In a matter of moments, the machine was struggling to stay alive under the assault, trying to use a Wrecking Ball but missing entirely.

With one final mechanical grunt, Lightning struck the machine hard, and it went down, collapsing into a heap of metal as its lights flickered out and its mechanics shut down. Rei jumped onto the machine and jabbed her sword onto the main body, the final sparks dying out as she shredded the controls completely.

"Won't be getting up ever again," She announced.

"Pulse is crawling with things like that, isn't it?" Sazh asked.

"Maybe," Rei said, hopping off the Dreadnought's corpse. "I'd hazard a guess that there are more natural monsters than mechanical man-made ones, but I'd assume they aren't uncommon."

"Got me," Lightning said. "Not even the Corps has access to intel on Pulse. Soldiers in the field fight blind."

"Yeah, I noticed," Sazh said, crossing his arms. "But don't you need to know exactly what you're up against?"

"Target's a target."

"You like to keep it simple, don't you?"

"I stick to my goal."

"As long as you have a goal, you can fight?" Hope asked.

"You can stay alive," Lightning corrected, walking forward to a newly revealed path.

It seemed to be a ramp, leading back up to the ground above where they'd fallen and allowing them to continue past the junk piles that had been barring their paths previously. Making it to what looked like a nice place to stop, they took a break around a pool of water that seemed to glow. There was a fallen airship which Lightning, Rei and Sai sat on, messing with their weapons to upgrade them, while Vanille and Hope hung out below on the ground.

Sazh sighed and sat down next to Lightning. "Not much of a future for us, huh?"

"Hard to picture a happy ending," Lightning admitted.

"We don't even know where to go."

Lightning stood. "I do."

"Hm?" Sai asked.

She turned and looked up and the others stood to see where she was referring to. "There."

In the sky was what looked like an airship, glowing white like a moon. "What's that?" Rei asked.

"Eden?" Sazh asked in shock. "The Sanctum's seat of power. Oh, that's a great idea. Just charge right in there. Give 'em a taste of l'Cie terror!"

When she didn't respond, he turned to her, his smile fading. "You're serious?"

"Keep running - it's die or turn Cie'th," She explained. "There's no place for l'Cie to hide. No…They want a fight? Let's take it to the Sanctum's door!"

"This isn't a game!"

"No. That's for damn sure. It started with Serah. The fal'Cie took her. Now I'm a l'Cie too. And the Sanctum's hunting me, an enemy of the state. But who's pulling their strings? A fal'Cie. Eden. Cocoon's Sustainer and Guiding Light."

Vanille and Hope had walked up to join them, and Lighting turned towards them, putting her hand over her chest. "It probably ordered the Purge, too. Pulse and Sanctum fal'Cie? They're all the same. And we're all the same to them: expendable."

Rei looked down for a moment, and Vanille 's head fell in silent agreement.

"I'm not dying a fal'Cie slave," Lightning declared.

"So?" Sazh asked. "What are you gonna do?"

"Destroy it."

"By yourself?" Sai asked. "What, are you crazy?"

"Say you pull it off," Sazh continued. "What's that get you? Satisfaction?" He turned, putting his hand to his forehead. "Something happens to Eden, it's lights out Cocoon!"

He then turned to Lightning in realization. "You  _want_  that. You're a Pulse l'Cie now, so you just want to snuff out Cocoon!"

"No!" Vanille shouted, stepping forward. "What about Serah? She said to  _save_  Cocoon! It might even be our Focus to make sure Cocoon stays-"

"Our Focus doesn't matter!" Lightning snapped. "I don't take orders from fal'Cie. How I live is up to me."

"Don't you mean, how you die?" Sazh asked.

"Think like that, and it's already over. Better to pick your path and keep moving."

Hope's head fell in thought, while Lightning turned back to Sazh. "Don't worry. I'm after the Sanctum. I'm not out to destroy the world. If it did come to that, wonder if our 'hero' would try to stop me?"

"You wanna fight Snow now?" Sazh asked. "Just like that, and you're enemies?"

"Next time we meet, we might be too."

Lightning stomped past Vanille and Hope back down off the airship and walked off down the path to continue through the Vile Peaks.

 _When the fear sank in, it tore us all apart. Lightning was suffering. Reaching out to us. But none of us could see it_.

"Snow deserves it!" Hope suddenly shouted and ran after Lightning.

 _If only I'd been stronger, none of this ever would have happened_.

Rei sighed. "Okay,  _that_  doesn't seem like a good idea. Sai, stay and look after them, will ya?"

She ran after Hope, and Vanille looked like she was ready to follow, but hesitated and shook her head. "I don't know what I should do."

"That makes two of us," Sazh said.

She looked to him before smiling and slapping him on the back, nearly causing him to lose his balance and fall off the side of the airship. "Hey! You're taking care of  _me!_ "

"Well I won't be if you keep pushing me like that."

"I…guess I'm staying with you guys," Sai said. "We should probably hurry after them if we want to stay with the group. Unless you guys have some other brilliant plan in mind?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also 'Who'da thunk' is a real saying in the game subtitles, which I find funny for some reason.
> 
> And yeah, Hope wasn't in the Dreadnought battle in the game for gameplay reasons, but when you're writing a story, you can make it so that he is!
> 
> (Ignore the rest if you aren't a FFXIII nerd)
> 
> BTW, my friend says Hope is worthless, but Protect and Shell can save your life. He's a faster magic caster than Vanille (and make less weird noises - if you know what I mean) as well as a more powerful caster than Lightning - since she's more balanced physically and magically - so he ends up making it into my final post-game party. The only reason I'd choose anyone else over him is because debuffs are useful too and offensive buffs come in handy in certain situations as well (before you've maxed out all Crystarium, of course).
> 
> And yes, Hope is an annoyingly angsty downer at the beginning of the game and he can be annoying sometimes, but give the kid a break! He just lost his mom, who he loves, and he's literally the youngest of all the people there - 14, just barely a teenager - and his entire world was shattered when he became a l'Cie! This is affecting the adults in the group, so don't pick on him for being more terrified! Plus, have you seen how mature this kid is for his age?! If you've never been a 14 year old kid living on Cocoon who lost your mom in a Purge and then was transformed into a l'Cie, don't even talk to me!
> 
> *Sighs* I'm just salty at my friend who isn't a final fantasy nerd to the core. Sorry for my rant.


	8. Don't Abandon Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Maybe we should try it. What does this do?"
> 
> "Hey, you're gonna hurt yourself!" Lighting called. "Don't touch that!"
> 
> "Wait. What if it works?" He began climbing the machine.
> 
> "Leave it!"
> 
> The machine suddenly activated and took a step forward, Hope shouting in surprise, as he sat on top of it. With each thundering step, Hope shouted as he held on tight, trying to figure out the controls.
> 
> "I told you to leave it," Lightning muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another great Eidolon fight where it's really not that interesting. To those who read the fight, Odin really is like this gameplay wise. The dude is relentless.
> 
> Guest: Yes, since it's still a pretty good game and has some cool features to it. It was named Versus XIII because it was in the same universe - as are a couple others of the FF series - but I'll be referencing to all the fun tropes of the Final Fantasy series that I know and love.
> 
> I do this even with stories completely unrelated to Final Fantasy, because I love the series with all my heart. Just recently, I put a FFXV reference in my Heroes of Olympus series (and there are a ton of FF mentions and usage there, even though it's not a crossover) as well as my Once Upon a Time story.
> 
> As mentioned in my profile, I literally cannot go a single story without referencing Final Fantasies.

"Wait for me!" Hope called.

Lightning stopped as Hope ran up behind her, panting and trying to catch his breath. "I'm going with you."

"I can't babysit you anymore," She declared.

Hope stood confidently. "I can fight. I'm not afraid."

"Lightning, behind you!" Rei called, running up.

Lightning turned to see a platoon of soldiers run up. "Great, a PSICOM hit squad," She muttered.

One of the soldiers clicked a button on a small device, causing an explosion behind them and some of the junk that had been piled up to fall upon the path they'd come from, the flaming wreckage blocking any escape. Not that they planned for escape anyway.

Lightning and Rei drew their swords while Hope grabbed his boomerang. Lightning instantly charged in with a Blitz to the Corps Gunners, while Hope began throwing fire spells. Rei threw out her own Blitz as the Gunners began throwing around Manadrive Barthunders.

The two women attacked the soldiers separately, Hope throwing fires all around. The PSICOM Tracker attempted to cure the Gunners, but it was no use against the overwhelming strength of Lightning and Rei. Hope moved his efforts to the Tracker while the women took out the Gunners, seeing that his curing would only become a nuisance and managed to take him out.

With one final Blitz from the two of them, the rest of the Gunners fell.

Hope sheathed his boomerang and leaned forward, hands on his knees, panting, but Lightning put her hand to her hip. "Not bad," She admitted.

Hope stood straight and smiled. "Really? Thanks." And then he proceeded to lean down and panted again.

Lightning looked to the wreckage behind them, realizing that the others wouldn't be able to follow even if they wanted to, and there was no way to drop Hope back off with them either.

Upon seeing the explosion and the smoke rising, Sai, Vanille, and Sazh looked over from behind the airship.

"Uh-oh," Sazh said. "Army's out to play."

"What now?" Vanille asked.

"What now? Well, we could stay here, but shouldn't we-?"

"Run?"

"Huh?"

"We should run. If we rush in now, we'll just get in her way."

Sazh looked to the smoke of the explosion. "You know, you're right. I guess. I mean it's not like Lightning needs any help. And Rei will look after Hope."

"We'll probably end up hearing about them soon enough anyway," Sai said.

He figured if they were bound to get captured, he might as well stick with Vanille and Sazh so that they didn't get into trouble, and if Rei needed to be rescued, he'd be free to help her. No point in leaving them alone, or unnecessarily running into danger with her and getting captured too. Rei would make sure Lightning and Hope didn't do anything too crazy or get hurt respectively, and Sai would be there if they inevitably got captured.

So, turning, he followed Sazh and Vanille as they walked off in the opposite direction.

"There will more soldiers," Hope said. "We should keep moving."

He turned to see Lightning and Rei still staring at the block of wreckage. "Lightning? Are you worried about the others? I'm sure they got away okay."

"So can you, if you leave now," Lightning said, turning to him and then walking past. "With me, it'll be fight after fight. I don't know how it'll end. It's anybody's guess. And what about Sai, Rei? You should probably be with him."

"He can handle himself. He's still a soldier, remember? Besides, it's probably safer for him without me. If Hope wants to go back, I'll join him, but I'd be fine staying with you and looking after Hope. So? What will it be, kiddo?"

"I know it'll be hard," Hope said. "But…I need to be stronger."

Lightning didn't say a word, merely staring ahead. "Lightning?"

"Call me Light."

Taking that as a sign she was allowing him to join her, he asked, "What's the plan from here?"

"Through the Gapra Whitewood to Palumpolum. We'll find transport to Eden."

"I live in Palumpolum. I can show you all the shortcuts."

"No side trips," She warned.

He let out a breathy chuckle. "No need. I don't think l'Cie are welcome at home."

* * *

Heading through the Vile Peaks, they encountered Corps Regulars and Gunners, who were using more Manadrive magic, such as Fire and Barthunder.

They encountered some Uhlans, who flew around the battle field, shot blasts that knocked them back, and when a Targeting Beacon was thrown by a soldier, it let out heavy Guided Missile attack that hit hard. Hope managed to throw up some Protects and healed everyone up in time, and with the power of staggering, the mechanical monsters always fell.

Coming across a large metal bridge that was pulled up, there were some PSICOM soldiers examining a shut-down Dreadnought. Taking cover and reaching for her weapon, Lightning kept Hope behind her as she listened in.

"Any trace of the l'Cie?" On asked.

"Nothing," Another replied. "No sign it's been activated."

One of them turned and noticed them, and Lightning, never one to back down from a fight, came out of hiding and drew her weapon. The two Trackers were easy to dispatch, and Hope walked up to the Dreadnought.

"What was PSICOM doing here?"

"Probably thought we'd try and use a Pulse machine to escape," Rei said.

"Maybe we should try it. What does this do?"

"Hey, you're gonna hurt yourself!" Lighting called. "Don't touch that!"

"Wait. What if it works?" He began climbing the machine.

"Leave it!"

The machine suddenly activated and took a step forward, Hope shouting in surprise, as he sat on top of it. With each thundering step, Hope shouted as he held on tight, trying to figure out the controls.

"I told you to leave it," Lightning muttered.

"Hope!" Rei hopped up the Dreadnought's arm and jumped into the seat on top behind him. "You hold on here, and then pull this here."

She demonstrated, and the Dreadnought stopped it's march forward. The arms spun and steam shot out as the Dreadnought tested out its old and rusted joints.

"He's in good condition," She announced. "Okay, see this here? You move him with this, and use his arms like this."

Hope took the controls and tested out taking a step with the machine. Lightning walked over to the large metal bridge, and Hope followed her.

"And now swing the arm."

Hope activated the arm, and it reared back, the two of them holding on tight as the rest of the Dreadnought twisted and rocked as well, and struck the bridge, causing it to fall on the joint attached to the ground and hit the other side neatly.

Stomping forward, the bridge held the weight of the towering machine, and Hope drove them through a gate that helped power up the machine further. Upon finding a plethora of Pulsework Soldiers, Hope took a swing and sent them, quite literally, flying.

Rei laughed as the machine swung around and she held on behind Hope. "Bowling!" She shouted as they broke through a formation of Soldiers. "Strike!" Hope just plain trampled over some of them, and he was getting used to the motions of the large machine.

The Dreadnought wasn't exactly fast, but it was faster than the Pulsework Soldiers could run away. Lightning managed to follow the mechanical giant as Hope led them past waves of enemies and over numerous bridges, before coming to a large cliff. It wasn't a sheer drop down, but the small platforms of rock were too steep, weren't wide enough or long enough for the Dreadnought to get a firm grip, so the logical thing to do would be to leap all the way down.

"Okay, Hope. You might want to take a bigger leap than usual," Rei advised.

"How do I do that?"

Of course by that point, the Dreadnought walked right off the side of the cliff and tumbled down, and Rei threw Hope out of the Dreadnought's range as it fell. She hopped off on her own and landed on her feet, but Hope didn't land so gracefully. At the least, he wasn't crushed by the tons of sparking metal that came crashing down beside him.

"Nice landing," Lightning called, hopping down the small platforms of rock that were small enough for a human but far to small for the Dreadnought. "Let's get moving."

Hope stumbled to his feet. "Just need a minute. Still a bit winded."

"You're too soft."

Upon hearing that, Hope jumped into action, worried that he wasn't meeting Lightning's expectations and making her consider leaving him. "Wait up!"

"Back to walking on foot," Rei muttered. "I haven't had that much fun in ages. Me and my friend used to-" She cut herself off, realizing she wasn't talking to Sai alone. "…always play games like that."

"Hope we find another one of those things," Hope muttered.

They made it past more soldiers and Uhlans, who seemed to be staking out the area for them, knowing where they would be going. The PSICOM Ranger was able to cast Protects and Shells, but it didn't allow them to last much longer.

Hope, however, was getting more tired after each battle, and with Lightning always walking forward with no time to rest between fights, it was slowly wearing Hope down. He forced himself to keep moving forward, making sure to stay with her, but he was definitely slowing down, and Lighting began to notice, Hope always behind her and forcing her to slow her pace to make sure he was able to stay within range.

Rei worried over Hope, trying to heal him and allow him to continue, but healing spells fixed injuries, and it was much less effective when it came to long-distance stamina itself. She could try and do more, but she didn't want to overdo things and draw any more suspicion than she already had. Lightning wasn't a fool, after all.

Eventually, as they were crossing a bridge, Hope tripped and fell on the joint that was connecting the metal bridge to the earth beneath it, and Lightning, fed up with Hope's slow pace and tired state, finally stopped with a huff.

"This isn't working."

"Huh?" Hope moved to get up quickly.

"I mean, you're a liability. You'll just slow me down."

Hope surged to his feet. "What?!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't protect you when-" Lightning was cut off by a grunt as her brand began pulsing with pain, a pink image of it hovering above her chest.

Hope, unable to see this because Lighting was turned the other way, was more concerned with the prospect of Lightning abandoning him. "You can't leave me here! You've got to take me with you!"

"Enough!" She shouted, though her voice became strained. "The whole world is against us!" She fell to her knees, hand clutching at her chest where her brand was. "I can barely keep myself alive. Let alone some helpless kid!"

Seeing something was happening, as well as taken back by her words, Hope slowly began to step back.

"I don't have time to baby you. You wanna get tough? Do it on your own!"

A large pink symbol flared to life around her, pulsing with energy and then shaking the earth as it gathered energy. Seeing the danger, Lighting mustered her strength and surged forward, out of the radius.

A pillar of light gathered at the center of the symbol, before it exploded to reveal the Eidolon Odin. The summoning symbol faded, Odin facing Hope with Lightning and Rei behind it.

"This  _ _cannot__  be happening," Lightning declared.

Odin looked upon the first l'Cie it saw: Hope, and assumed that it was he who summoned him. He instantly took up a fighting stance and reared back his Zantetsuken to strike, as Hope backed away and tripped over the very same part of the bridge he'd tripped over before.

"Look out!"

Lightning surged forward to protect the boy she had been ready to abandon moments ago, and with just her gunblade, managed to deflect the large weapon and the strong Eidolon. Hope scrambled to his feet and drew his boomerang, while Lightning and the Eidolon each took a fighting stance.

" ** _ _ **Is this the one?**__** " Odin telepathically asked Rei.

" ** _ _ **Yes,**__** " She confirmed.

Odin held his sword in front of him and then thrust it up to the sky before a dark aura surrounded Lighting, spirits shooting up from the ground as the Doom spell took hold.

Lightning first moved to attack while Hope threw spells at the creature. Odin took a defensive stance with his shield before then summoning a Thundara spell at Hope. He then jumped up, spun to gain momentum in the air, and came down with a wide attack, sending both Hope and Lightning back from the Seismic Strike.

Rei sent a Cura spell to them, keeping them alive, but then Odin unleashed a Skyward Swing before Hope could get to his feet, sending him flying up into the air. Lightning managed to stay on her feet, but then Odin turned to her and unleashed another Thundara.

Rei worked to heal them, but even if they weren't going to die, they were still flinching and being knocked back before they were, and the Doom spell still had a time limit on Lightning regardless. Odin let lose a Crushing Blow, and Hope, just getting to his feet, was knocked out, before Odin relentlessly hit Lightning with a Seismic Strike.

Rei cast Raise and got Hope up again, healing them while Odin took a defensive stance with Ullr's Shield. Hope took the opportunity to throw Protect on each of them and Shell on Lightning before Odin came out of his defensive mode and shot a Thundara at him. Hope managed to get Shell on himself before Odin let loose a Flourish of Steel combo at him, and Hope managed to take the blows a little easier with his Protect barrier.

He was sent to up from a Skyward Swing, but he took significantly less damage and was on his feet quicker than before. Now switching to attacking Lightning, Odin gave her a Thundara and then a Crushing Blow, but she and Hope managed to withstand the attacks without flinching as Rei kept them healed up.

The two managed to gain some headway. throwing spells together and forcing Odin to his Ullr's Shield defense once more. They were keeping strong against his Flourish of Steel, Seismic Strike, and Crushing Blow attacks nicely, and though Hope was sometimes thrown by the Skyward Swing, they kept at their attacks and Rei made sure to keep them properly healed.

Of course it wasn't easy, and they were constantly stopped by Odin's relentless combos, but finally Lightning tamed the Eidolon. Odin planted his sword in the ground, rose petals flying, and then jumped into the air and glowing. His arms and legs flipped and twisted to hooves, his body twisted around and his shield revealed a horse's head and face, glowing with four purple eyes.

The newly formed horse whinnied to the sky before galloping down to the ground, a trail of rose petals in its wake, to stop beside Lightning. She grabbed his Zantetsuken from the ground and mounted her new horse in one leap before pulling the weapon apart into two blades as Odin reared and whinnied once more, ready for battle.

After adjusting to the new Eidolon's Gestalt mode, she dismounted, put the blades together, and gave it to Odin, who took the hilt in his mouth before launching away, disappearing and leaving behind a pink crystal rose, which then vanished a moment later as well, ready to be summoned once more when the l'Cie needed him.

The high of the battle wearing off, Lightning fell to her knees, the pink image of her brand still glowing.

"Lightning!"

Hope and Rei hurried over to her, and Hope noticed her brand, otherwise out of sight because of her shirt.

Hope looked to the brand on his wrist and then hers. "Your brand looks different. Was that an Eidolon? Like l'Cie can summon?"

"Yea," Rei said. "Tough customer you got, Light. Odin's not an Eidolon to be messed with.

Lightning scoffed, the image of her brand fading. "Magic and mumbo-jumbo. I must've hit my head on that Purge train."

Rei smiled. "Trust me. We all did."

Grabbing her gunblade, she, Hope and Rei stood straight again.

"Um…" Hope muttered. "Am I…really in your way?"

Lightning looked to the side in guilt, before sheathing her weapon and walking forward. Hope turned frantically. "I'll do better! I'll try harder, I'll-"

"Hope," She said gently.

He sighed in defeat, but Lightning turned back with a small scoff. "We'll toughen you up."

Hope looked up in surprise, and Lightning took a few steps forward before stopping. "I'm sorry. About before."

With that, she continued forward, and Hope surged after her, determined to not let Lightning down again.

As they continued down the path, they found another squad of soldiers, along with two Uhlans. "L'Cie!"

"Got my back?" Lightning asked.

"Yeah!" Hope said confidently.

"Let's show them how it's done, Light," Rei said. "Let's test out that new Eidolon of yours."

She nodded, and Rei puled Hope out of range as Lightning held her hand to her chest where her brand was, a pink light emerging as her crystal rose. "Odin."

She tossed it up into the air before jumping to join it mid-flight and slicing it apart, Odin's summoning symbol expanding to reveal said Eidolon. Lightning shot down, Odin taking her hand and tossing her up once more before the two hit the ground in sync, drawing their blades. "Cut us a path!"

Odin went wide, swinging his Zantetsuken in his Flourish of Steel, while Lightning coordinated a pair of Blitzes to strike before Odin let lose the final strike of the combo. The soldiers didn't stand a chance, and the Uhlans couldn't do much damage to the Eidolon.

Odin targeted one with a Crushing Blow and another Flourish of Steel, while Lightning threw spells to build stagger. The other Uhlan attempted to attack the Eidolon, Odin drawing all of the attention away from Lightning with a Provoke, but the warrior didn't even flinch to the puny attempts at trying to ram it and fire their guns.

He cast a Thundara, hitting the two of them, and continued his assault. With one final Thundaga, staggering one of the Uhlans, the Eidolon transformed into his Gestalt mode, Lightning grabbing his blades and climbing aboard. The two charged in and Lightning put the duel blades together to swing it round hard at the staggered machine with a Razor Gale.

The pair worked in perfect sync, Lightning swift with connecting and disconnecting the blades. She put them together, and then swung them around with Stormblade to send a wave of slicing wind and energy flying at both machines, before spitting the blades apart and rearing them back, charging them up with electricity before striking them forward to release a barrage of Lightning Strikes down upon the Uhlans.

With one final swipe of her blades, the staggered machine fell. Lightning and Odin turned to the final Uhlan, Odin launching into the air as Lightning released the blades behind them to spark with energy. They spun around the pair, building up a storm around them and firing down the Thunderfall upon the machine, before the blades circled back into Lightning's hands and they hit the ground with ease.

They continued their assault, until Odin's summon began to come to an end, and Odin reared while Lightning threw her blades out. "The storm is here!"

Odin launched forward with a leap, and she launched herself up and off Odin's back, pulling the blades in before then spinning in the air with the blades out, building up razor-sharp waves of energy at her opponent and building it's chain gauge before, with a loud snap, all the energy exploded and Lightning came down to strike one final blow upon the Uhlan that didn't stand a chance.

"Until next time." She placed the blades together and handed the weapon to Odin, who took it in his horse's mouth and then launched off, disappearing back from whence he came.

"Nice job," Rei commented.

"So that's the power of a l'Cie," Hope muttered.

"Might as well enjoy it while it lasts."

After a long trek through the peaks with little rest and constant fighting, not to mention the Odin battle, Hope was tired out enough as it was, and it wasn't long before he was panting and about to collapse from exhaustion.

"We'll stop here," Lightning announced.

"Sorry," Hope muttered.

"Don't sweat it."

"Looks like a safe enough area," Rei agreed.

Hope fell to his knees and then twisted around so that he could lean against a rock.

"I'll look around," Lightning said. "You rest up. Rei, look after him."

"No problemo," She saluted.

Lightning headed off to scout the area for more soldiers, and it wasn't long before Hope passed out against the rock from exhaustion. Rei moved him over to a more closed off area, a ring of dirt and rock making a somewhat decent shelter and cover from most angles.

When Lightning returned, she found Hope out cold and Rei half asleep as well. Sitting down opposite to Hope, he shifted in his sleep. "Mom…?" He muttered.

Lightning blinked in surprise and then scoffed. "Not by a long shot," She said gently.

She watched the boy shift in his sleep, and a small smile crept its way across her face. He wasn't such a bad kid, and now she knew that she would never abandon the boy again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never use Eidolons in the game, and so I most likely won't be throwing them in too often in the story. They're cool, and probably way OP when it comes to in a story vs. gameplay wise, but they really have limits as to how often they're used story-wise before it gets repetitive.
> 
> I may use them here and there in tough boss battles, but not really on a regular basis.
> 
> More with Shu in the next chapter! Yay!


	9. Shu Makes a Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shu is a giant cinnamon roll.

_Shu was staring._

_They should probably stop._

_…_

_Naaah._

_"Shu, are you even listening?"_

_"Huh?"_

_Fang sighed and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms._

_"You weren't."_

_"Sorry, Fang."_

_"Yeah, you sound very sincere. The whole point of us being here is to find Vanille and Rei, and seeing as you're the only guy on this ship that can sense Pulsian artifacts, I need you to focus."_

_"But what about that guy?"_

_Shu pointed to a man talking with Cid across the meeting room. He was wearing a black T-shirt, thick army-style black pants, black combat boots, along with a black short-sleeved jacket, showing off his muscular arms. At his left hip was a sword in it's sheath, the hilt of the blade and the sheath a matching mix of purple, red, and orange, the beautiful colors contrasting his dark outfit in a nice way. At his right hip and just peaking out from the back of his jacket, he had numerous daggers of all different shapes and sizes attached to his belt. Most looked to be for throwing, others for close combat fighting and slicing._

_Shu had seen him around before, visiting Cid seemingly on a regular basis. And Shu couldn't help but stare at the hot guy every time._

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Huh?"_

_She groaned in exasperation. "I said you were the only guy on this ship that can sense Pulsian artifacts, and you referred to him."_

_"Yeah. Well, he's a fal'Cie. I'd assume he can too, unless I've got this whole fal'Cie thing wrong."_

_Fang sat forward, now listening closely. "A fal'Cie?"_

_"He's not a majorly powerful fal'Cie, but he's not_ not  _a fal'Cie. You know?"_

_"A Pulsian fal'Cie?"_

_"No. At least, not one that I've ever known."_

_Fang gave him a once over and her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "If he's a Cocoon fal'Cie, it might not be a good thing for him to know what we're doing here. I hope Cid understands the situation."_

_"I doubt that Cid knows he's a fal'Cie, but that guy seems to get sent here from the Sanctum every now and then. He's probably the guy sent to keep a close eye on the Cavalry, as their reputation proceeds them. Cid should know how to keep things under wraps when he arrives."_

_"He's a fal'Cie, right? Is it really that easy to keep a secret from him?"_

_"Sure. Despite what you might think, fal'Cie aren't omniscient. Pulse and Lindzei are the ones who brand people in the end, so it's not like they can see visions of the future for the Focuses of their l'Cie, either. Of course, if a fal'Cie gets around enough, they can obviously do whatever they want to get information by other means, they're obviously powerful, but if we play our cards right, he'll never know. Of course your brand is a bit of a dead give away of your Pulsian origin."_

_"You have a point. I wonder. If there's a high chance he's already figured out about us, do you think the Sanctum's using us to get to the l'Cie first? He could already know everything, and he's sabotaging us from the inside by playing ignorant."_

_"That could be the case."_

_"I'm gonna get outta here. See what I can do about him. If he talks to you, don't give anything away."_

_"What?! How'm I supposed to handle an interrogation by a fancy Sanctum dude?!"_

_"Better you than me. Like you said, I'm a dead give away. You at least somewhat look like you belong."_

_"B-But Fang! Can't I come-?!"_

_"If we both leave he'll know we're onto him, as you've apparently been staring like a stalker_ every time  _he's around."_

_Shu hoped they weren't blushing, but they didn't trust themself to open their mouth and say something stupid._

_Fang only smirked with a slight chuckle. "Do me a favor and_ don't  _try and fall in love with the enemy."_

_"Aw, but what if he's not the enemy?"_

_"No information, Shu. Don't give him anything important."_

_"I'm not saying I'd give him information. I'm just saying I'd maybe like to date him. And what if he already knows something?"_

_"Keep track of what he's told you and what he hasn't. If he tells you something he shouldn't know, go along with it and don't move any further in the information. Just because he knows something doesn't mean he knows_ everything,  _nor does he need to. Find a way to escape him and then report what he shouldn't know."_

 _"You're expecting me to do all that?! I can barely keep track of what you said two minutes ago! Why not let someone else_ professional  _handle this?!"_

_"If you can sense him, he can definitely sense you, and you're the most likely to be targeted, because out of the two of us, you are definitely the most gullible."_

_"Hey!"_

_"By first looks alone," She added, as though that made it any better._

_They huffed and crossed their arms. "Fine, fine, I'll do it. But no promises if I mess up."_

_"Just try not to do anything stupid and you'll be fine."_

_She ruffled their hair, making them hurry to quickly fix it, even though she had barely made a dent in the mass of poofy dirty-blonde hair. Walking off with a laugh, Shu was left alone to sulk and poked the plant sitting in front of them on the desk with a pen, causing it to instantly grow another inch. They giggled and poked it again, effectively allowing the small plant to outgrow its pot within seconds. Hm…Shu would have to find a new home for it. Not that they hadn't 'adopted' near every other plant on the ship already._

_Suddenly, someone plopped down in front of Shu, and it wasn't Fang. It was the hot guy! Ah! He was staring at Shu! What the hell should they do?!_

_"H-Hi? D-Do you need something?"_

_"I've seen you around," The hot guy said in a melodious voice. He leaned in. "You're the Pulse guy."_

_Shu squeaked, first from the hot guy's proximity and then from what he'd said._

_"Y-Yeah. So what if I am?"_

_The hot guy sat down in front of them. At their table! Eeek! Shu was exploding on the inside._

_"I'm a fal'Cie, you know? I know you can sense me."_

_"Yeah, but…you're a Cocoon fal'Cie."_

_He waved off the statement. "Sure, but that doesn't mean I'm instantly your enemy. I know all about the Cavalry's vendetta, using Pulsian fal'Cie and l'Cie. It's okay. I've known for a while. And I'm not here to stop you or anything. I've seen you around whenever I come here. I've been assigned here as of recent events, what with more l'Cie being added to the watch list. I figured I'd like to meet my fellow Pulsian."_

_Shu gulped. He was staying here? On the Lindblum?! And he wanted to hang out with them?! Shu was going to die._

_"P-Pulsian? But you're-"_

_"All fal'Cie originated on Pulse, before Cocoon was created. I have vague memories of the land below, and I have gone there sometimes for my own amusement, as well as missions."_

_"I-I like your sword," They stuttered._

_"Oh, thank you. It's called Zanmato. One of the most powerful blades in existence, bestowed upon me by my maker."_

_"You know your maker?"_

_He looked to the table and then picked at the plant Shu had grown, his touch actually causing the reverse of Shu's touch to happen, the plant's long vines and roots shrinking down as though it didn't like him. "I know what I've been told. In truth, I know my maker about as well as you know yours."_

_He managed to shrink the plant back down to its original size, and though Shu could feel the plant's reverse of growth, it wasn't painful. More refreshing, like going swimming on a hot summer's day, the cold, well, cold, but also a relief against the extreme heat._

_Shu resisted the urge to touch his hand and feel his power against theirs._

_"Oh, my apologies. My name is Mataecharonsan, but call me Charon."_

_Even his name was hot._

_"A-Asushunamir. Shu."_

_"I have wondered, and pardon me for asking, but what gender do you identify as?"_

_"I-I'm gender non-binary. Not one or the other. Or both, if you want. I'm fine with either."_

_"Are you sure you weren't born a gender and merely identify as neither?"_

_"No, I'm sure. Trust me, I would know."_

_"You know, Lindzei is a genderless god as well. Perhaps there isn't much difference between them and Pulse, not really."_

_"Well Anima and the humans were the ones that started the War of Transgression all those years ago. They were mad that Cocoon was draining all of Pulse's resources, as well as taking a good deal of Gran Pulse's population. Cocoon people eventually lived a few generations and forgot the truth about Gran Pulse, and started calling it hell. I guess it was really Bart that wanted a war, Anima complied when she got all huffy about resource plundering, and the war happened. The rest of us didn't really care. The fal'Cie, Barthandelus, was once the king of Pulse, when Cocoon was created in order to make a sacrifice worthy enough to tear open the portal to the unseen realm. When Anima attacked, Barthandelus declared the population of Cocoon too small still, and so he defended it. There's no real war between us anymore, and there are no more humans in Pulse left to fight anyway. And the fal'Cie aren't really interested in fighting, they never were."_

_"What about you? Why are you here, if not to start another war?"_

_"I'm just interested in finding my friend and getting us back to Pulse in peace. Although, it wasn't like that was initially my plan. I went looking for my friend after the war, and encountered Bart. He tried to capture me, and I narrowly escaped. Ever since, I've been going back and forth between Gran Pulse and Cocoon, looking for my friend."_

_"Hotareichan?"_

_"Hm? How would you-?"_

_"I did do my own research when I was assigned here. Hotareichan was brought here in Anima's Vestige by Bart."_

_"She was? So that explains how she got here. Anyway, yeah, that's her."_

_He paused, and Shu felt him having a mental conversation, but didn't pry. Charon sighed. "I've gotta go. But I'll see ya around, right?"_

_"M-Me? Uh, sure. I-I mean if you want."_

_He smiled. "I want."_

_Shu hoped their face wasn't a tomato at this point. "C-Cool! Yeah! Okay…"_

_He chuckled and walked off. It was only after he closed the door of the meeting room, out of sight, that Shu let out the breath they were holding. They remembered what Fang said about them being gullible, and quite possibly Charon was just playing them for information, but they still remained optimistic. They'd follow Fang's advice and be weary of signs that he wanted some kind of info from them, but until then, might as well use the opportunity to gain some information from_ him _, right?_

* * *

Now Shu sat on the transport ship outside the door to the cell holding the new l'Cie that they'd captured, because the guy was seriously a lose cannon. He'd already made two attempts to escape before the ship even took off, and another just as they were launching. Now, Shu was in charge of looking after him, which wasn't very hard considering Fang had gut-jabbed the guy numerous times to disable him.

"Hey."

Charon walked over and Shu smiled. "Hey! When'd you get here?"

"Just now. The wonders of a fal'Cie," He said simply, before pecking them lightly on the lips. "Rough day?"

"More like mildly annoying. We caught what seems to be the more stubborn of the l'Cie, and I'd hazard a guess that his stubbornness is what caused him to stay behind without the rest of the l'Cie in the first place."

"Stubborn to a fault and a bit angsty, huh? Now who do I know that that reminds me of? Hmm…"

"You're right." Shu nodded and crossed their arms. "Fang  _is_  very stubborn."

Charon smiled and wrapped his arms around Shu's waist from behind, resting his head on their shoulder. " _Whatever_  you say, love."

Shu giggled at the contact and leaned into it. They didn't even mind that Charon was slightly taller than them.

"How'd  _your_  day go?" They asked.

They felt Charon shrug. "Boring old meetings. Can you believe the Sanctum said the whole Purge thing was 100% successful? They acted as though they were going to Pulse just for vacation or something, and not being thrown from their homes forcefully, outlaws just because of luck, or lack thereof."

"Yeah. It's unfair. This world is cruel, and somehow the people say  _Gran Pulse_  is hell."

Charon kissed their cheek. "I'll get you home safely. Maybe you'd show me around?"

"Sure. Of course Rei would come too. You two would get along great. And I could show you all of the places we'd hang out way back when. There's this  _beautiful_  spring, and wide, open plains with cliffs that are fun to climb and then look down upon the world from. Cocoon looks marvelous, floating in the sky. When you're not thinking about being enemies and all, really, it's just an attraction, no worse than a moon. And there are these beautiful flowers Rei always put in my hair."

"Ha. You gotta trust her a lot if you let her play with your hair. I'm almost jealous. Almost."

He whispered the last word into Shu's ear, and they grabbed his hand to lace their fingers. "I trust you and all, but my hair is a precious thing."

Charon laughed. "I know, darling. And I love it as much as you do."

"Whoa, now that's a bold statement."

"Maybe. But I do love it and you more than you know."

"Love you too, Chare-Bear."

Charon huffed. "I told you not to call me that."

They smiled. "Too bad."

"At least not in public, Namir," He requested.

They hummed in thought. "Hm, fine. You're all mine."

"Deal."

"Shu, we're approaching the Lindblum," Fang called as she walked down the hall towards us. "Stop snogging your boyfriend and help me escort Snow up to the bridge. No doubt he's gonna try and make  _another_ escape attempt once we're there, since Cid isn't gonna be nice on him until he finds out his motives."

"Understood."

"I'll meet you on the Lindblum and tell Cid you've arrived with a l'Cie," Charon said. "It only took three weeks, sweetheart."

Shu shoved him away. "Shut up. I can track l'Cie fine."

" _Right,_ " Fang muttered, crossing her arms.

"I can!"

The two laughed at their expense and Shu huffed indignantly. "You're mean! Cruel! Evil! I thought you two loved me!"

"Aw, we do sweetheart," Charon said, throwing an arm over their shoulders.

"Your sincerity is comforting."

He peck them on the cheek. "I'll see you later, love."

He disappeared with a small flash of light and Shu crossed their arms. "Right."

"Oh, you love him," Fang said. "Now, back to work. Let's get this guy up to the bridge before we dock. I think Cid'll be eager to meet him."

Shu kept their arms crossed and blew a strand of their curly hair out of their face begrudgingly, but they still couldn't stay mad at Charon for long, and even Fang was a pretty close friend that couldn't really sustain their wrath very easily.

Fang obviously didn't need to know that though.

And Charon probably already knew, but still.

Gods, they loved that man.

"Hey, I'm still mad at you both, ya hear?"

* * *

Sazh, Vanille, and Sai walked into what looked to be some kind of old-fashioned mine, filled with tons of mechanical equipment, as well as built solely on man-made metal paths above.

"It seems to have sufficient power," Sai muttered. "The army has to have been trying to get this place back online, maybe for curiosity, maybe to salvage some of the stuff and recycle it."

"No sign of soldiers," Vanille noted.

"Guess Lightning got their attention," Sazh said.

"I wonder how Hope's doing."

"They were headed towards Palumpolum," Sai said. "Kid's on his way home. You can bet on it."

Vanille crossed her arms. "Good for him!"

Sazh looked down in thought, and Vanille noticed, moving in front of him curiously. "What's wrong?"

"It's good - if they manage to slip in quietly," He explained. "All of Cocoon is in the grip of Pulse-phobia. If a l'Cie pops up on the radar, all hell will break loose."

Vanille rocked on her heels, putting her hands together in front of her. "They don't even know why they're scared."

"Afraid of what they don't know," Sai suggested, crossing his arms. "Afraid to find out more."

"Get's worse the older you get," Sazh said. "I'm terrified of what will happen." His hand moved to his brand on his chest, just peeking out from under his shirt. "The world probably would be better off without Pulse l'Cie."

Vanille looked down sadly, and Sazh noticed. "I mean, most of them," He quickly tried to recover.

She turned, putting on a smile again. "Gee, thanks." She then turned Sazh around and shoved him forward. "Let's go!"

They headed down the paths of metal, seeing some robotic monsters such as Bombs and more Pulsework Soldiers. "The robots must have built this," Vanille guessed.

"It doesn't look like Cocoon design," Sai admitted. "You think the monsters that were brought here created this place maybe as an automatic response to being in a new location?"

"Don't worry," Vanille said. "You'll be okay with me!"

A Bomb flew over, and cast fire on itself before moving to strike Vanille, in the process healing itself. It wasn't hard to dispatch, three Water and Blizzard casting against one Bomb, but Sai predicted they'd be harder once there were a lot of them and maybe a Pulsework Soldier or two that would divide their efforts and slow them down before the Bombs reached full health an exploded.

"Wow, it's almost like a village!" Vanille said.

In the next encounter with two Bombs, Sai noticed that the bombs had panels of two different colors, one darker blue or indigo, and the other flame-red, orange, and yellow. As the Bombs healed themselves with fire as well as attacked, the red panels began to take over, until crystals began to form on their heads like hair to signal they were ready to explode, while when the three of them ganged up on one and drove it to near death in an instant, its panels all darkened to the blue state, signaling it was low on power and had far from enough energy to be of much use.

Killing the first, the second one seemed to grow in size, even having little arms stick out, before it began to glow with an orange aura and shake violently, like shaking a bottle of soda and knowing it was gonna burst. Not wanting to see that Self-Destruct hit them, they went all in on attacking. The Bomb no longer shrunk and turned blue as it lost health, now that it was in the Self-Destruct phase, but they managed to kill it before it could go off.

The trip through the machine-built area was pretty simple. Sazh had to activate a few machines to get across chasms, from staircases to platforms, and the Pulsework Soldiers managed to get in a few hits before the Bombs were fully taken care of by them, but overall, it wasn't too hard to get by even with the combinations of the mechanical monsters.

Passing through a small bit of wilderness in between, they found cute little Gremlins, that casted magic spells. The next area they found was a giant power generator, and it seemed to be the only way in order to open the gate to move forward. The group split up to activate the panels that activated the generator, and the area sparked to life, the gate opening, but some Bombs and two Pulsework Soldiers walking through.

"Not the only thing we woke up, huh?" Sazh muttered.

"We can take 'em!" Vanille said confidently.

"This could be problematic," Sai admitted.

They hurried, first, to take out the Bombs, but meanwhile the two Pulsework Soldiers did some serious damage. They stayed on the offensive to take out the Bombs as quickly as possible, but Vanille was barely able to get in her Cure spells after they were gone to save Sazh, who got the bulk of the attacks from both the Bombs and the Soldiers.

Vanille cast Deprotect and Deshell on the Soldiers while Sazh moved to give Bravery, Faith, and Vigilance to the group, yet the two Pulsework Soldiers were hitting hard, and Vanille constantly had to stop her debuffing efforts to heal, as the Soldiers had a wide attack that hit everyone at the same time.

When Sai managed to stagger the first Soldier, it gave a bit of breathing room since it could no longer attack in that state, and the group took it out before Vanille healed them back up to full health and they wailed on the final Pulsework Soldier, first staggering it with all the spells they could throw at it, and then Sazh and Sai attacking while Vanille added to the stagger gauge. Alone, it stood no chance.

"Ha, we did it!" Vanille shouted in triumph. "I told you we'd be okay!"

"Nice job with the Deprotect and Deshell," Sai said. "Plus the Bravery, Faith, and Vigilance, the battle went a lot faster than it might have."

Headed back through a tunnel of earth, they came out near a waterfall, in what looked to be the end of the junk pile that was the Vile Peaks and opening up into more wilderness than mechanical scrap heaps.

"We've gotta sleep somewhere," Sazh muttered. "This look okay?"

"Uh…yeah! Fine by me!" Vanille said, and they looked to see her digging through a pile to grab a rug.

She flung it out on the ground neatly like a bed and smoothed it out. "All set. Okay, good night!"

"Not a care in the world," Sazh muttered.

"Better than being depressed over the whole situation, I suppose," Sai said.

The two began to walk over to her to rest as well, Sai looking for his own rug or blanket that might prove useful. Vanille moved to lay down, before she suddenly sat up with a gasp. "Oh!"

She moved to grab a stick and then began carving a line into the ground beside her rug, from a group of flowers to end next to a rock.

Sazh leaned forward, his hands on his knees, and looked in disbelief. " _What?_ "

Vanille finished the line and then put her arms out firmly to point at her creation. "Do not cross this line. Understood?"

Sai laughed, having pulled out his own rug to sleep on. "Loud and clear."

Sazh sighed and stood straight again. "Grow up."

She merely laughed with her usual cheerful squeak. "And good night again!"

"Would you just go to sleep already?"

Vanille set down her still and moved to lay down on her makeshift bed once more. Sighing, Sazh laid down on the ground beside her, on the other side of the line, of course, and Sai set his swords aside before moving to do the same on his rug.

* * *

In the middle of the night, Sazh woke to find Vanille behind him, having broken her own rule to lie next to him as she slept, her mask of cheerfulness gone and replaced with a face of fear and nightmares.

"Still a kid…" Sazh muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mini-poll: do you pronounce Charon 'Chair-on' or 'Care-on'? I've heard it both ways before. I pronounced it 'Chair-on' for a while, until I heard 'Care-on' and got it stuck in my head that way. Still, I pronounce it in my head both ways depending on how my brain is feeling.


	10. He Likes Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shu is still a giant cinnamon roll.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More of Shu's story! Yay!
> 
> And some of Rei's too! Yaaay!
> 
> And Charon, because why not?! Yaaaaay!
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Review!
> 
> All that jazz!

_Charon and Shu had been hanging out more the past few days. It was mostly for business purposes, but in the end, they spent most of their time talking about personal things rather than work. Shu knew that they should be searching for Rei, but Charon drew their attention away so easily, and how could they resist?_

_Charon had offered to teach Shu how to fly. Shu didn't think it was possible, but Charon managed to convince them to give it a try, and they actually managed to do it. It took a lot of concentration and power, but they would learn. Charon even offered to teach them how to teleport, and, never one to pass up an opportunity to spend even_ more _time with Charon, Shu happily accepted._

_One day, Charon seemed disturbed by something._

_"Perhaps you would like to…?"_

_Charon rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Dammit, it shouldn't be this hard!_

_"Quiet possibly…maybe you'd enjoy…coming with me on a mission later today? I-I mean, I have to choose a partner, and honestly, why not someone that's actually…on my level, if you know what I mean."_

_Shu beamed. "Sure! I mean…I'll ask if I can, but I'd totally like to go! If…if you wouldn't mind having me. I'm a bit annoying…"_

_"No, that's…you're not annoying."_

_"_ **Get the words out, Charon! You can do this! What's wrong with you today?! It's just Shu, for crying out loud! They're more nervous than you are!** _"_

_"I would love your presence. A good attitude is always appreciated on dreadfully boring missions. Besides, I'd like to take the opportunity to get to know you better."_

_Shu was taken back, clearly, and bit their lip to both stop from letting out an embarrassingly wide smile that would probably make them look like a creeper, as well as keep their nerves down._

_"Sure! I-I'd like that too. I mean, the whole you getting to know me, but I'd also get to know about you! Right…?"_

_"Of course!"_

_Okay, that came out too fast._

_"I'm an open book."_

_"Great. Great…Uh, I gotta go…talk to Fang! A-And ask her about…the-the mission thingy. Uh, bye! See ya later, right?"_

_He nodded. "Yeah."_

_Shu laughed nervously and rushed out, hoping they didn't look like they were_ too _enthusiastic about leaving, but also not wanting to embarrass themself anymore when they had gotten a date! Ha! Technically it was a mission, but it was still a date in their mind._

_Rushing to find Fang, they finally caught her in the halls heading towards the cafeteria from the command center, just reporting back from a mission._

_"_ Fang~! _"_

_She turned just in time to have Shu tackle into her, grabbing her arms and bouncing up and down around her. "Fang, Fang, Fang, Fang, Fang, Fang, Fang!"_

_"Yes?"_

_"I got a date! A real date! Well, sort of. And he doesn't think I'm annoying!"_

_"I couldn't possibly fathom why you'd be worried about that."_

_"And he's all nervous when he's talking to me! Does that mean he likes me?"_

_"Sure. He's worried about what you think of him, at the least."_

_Shu beamed, jumping around the hall and laughing hysterically. "He actually likes me! And he's not human! He'll live forever and I won't have to lose him!"_

_"Okay, now are you gonna tell me_ who _this is, or are we going to have to play the guessing game?"_

_"It's Charon! He likes me! He likes me, he likes me, he likes me!" Shu kept repeating it to themself, still in disbelief._

_"Charon? The fal'Cie guy from the Sanctum? Shu, are you sure it's really a good idea to-?"_

_"He's trustworthy, Fang, he_ is! _He told me all about having this little sister, and he's teaching me how to fly! And soon he'll teach me how to teleport! And he has nice eyes. Did I mention his eyes before?"_

_She crossed her arms. "Several times…"_

_"And he's got this cool sword, and he's got this power that makes me tingle when I sense it, and-"_

_"Okay, slow down, Shu. Doesn't he seem a little_ too _perfect? He's working for the Sanctum! He might just be playing you!"_

 _Shu's mood was instantly shattered. She did have a point. Charon was almost too perfect to be real. What if he_ was _just playing Shu to either get information or keep them from suspecting him while he does something to sabotage the Cavalry?_

_"Then…then he'd be really mean."_

_Fang saw how Shu's entire body seemed to shrink down at the thought. They really were happy about finding someone they loved, someone who liked them back. Maybe love was a hard thing for them, and to find someone so perfect meant everything. Having that be nothing but a dream might scar them for life._

_"Go on your date, Shu," She said. "We'll keep looking into him. If he_ is _a trickster, we'll put a stop to him and I'll make sure he gets what's coming to him for hurting you. If he_ isn't _then I want you to be happy with him, all right? We've got no proof against him, and maybe I'm just being overcautious. There's a certain way to tell if he's really nervous over you or if he's just playing nervous. Only time will tell though."_

_Shu mustered a smile. "Thanks, Fang. You…remind me of Rei. She'd always be overprotective of me too."_

_"That's because no one wants to see that face frown. I'll go tell Cid about it and handle things."_

_She ruffled their hair again, something that seemed to be becoming a trend, and Shu quickly moved to fix it again on instinct. Fang chuckled and walked back off to the command center where Cid was, and Shu hurried back to his room to get ready._

* * *

_Charon was pacing. Why was he pacing? Why was he_ nervous _about this? All he was doing was inviting Shu out…to get information out of them! Yeah! That was it! And also…maybe because Charon really did want to learn more about them._

 _Shu was a perky person, had an annoying yet enduring positive outlook on life. If only things were that easy for Charon. There_ was _a certain…_ feeling _that he got from Shu's powers, something that made the cold always stinging within Charon seem to warm. It was admittedly a weird feeling at first, but Charon found himself becoming addicted to it like human candy._

 _He wanted_ more _. He needed to feel the warmth, even though he'd grown so accustomed to the cold. It was delicious, to an extent that Charon was on the verge of going mad without it._

_"_ **Stop it!** _" He ordered to himself. "_ **Keep it together! What the hell is wrong with you?!** _"_

_Whatever Shu was doing, it was having an effect. Dammit! It was supposed to be_ Charon _seducing_ Shu _, not the other way around! He was only even doing this because he didn't want Shu blowing his cover as a fal'Cie!_

 _And yet now…now he found himself_ wanting _to do this._ Wanting _to talk to them more, see their stupid smile as they got flustered, to hear all they had to say about Pulse and Cocoon, to know every little detail about them, to even figure out the secret behind Shu's gender. Not that he minded which one they were, either way. Charon still couldn't find a fault in having them a girl or a boy._

_It was maddening, intoxicating, and Charon couldn't get enough of it._

_Argh! Was he going to have to be reduced to using a rubber band to snap his wrist every time he started thinking like that?!_

_"Hey!"_

_Great, they were already here. Charon stopped pacing, trying not look like he was going mad, but that only made things worse as his nerves began to settle into his stomach, the distraction of his moving feet gone._

_"Hey, you're early."_

_Shu looked aghast, like Charon had just told them their hair was ugly (which it definitely wasn't; Charon loved it far more than he should have). "Sorry! Was I…? I-I mean…I was just…excited."_

_"No! It's fine! It's a surprise, but…not an unpleasant one."_

_Shu smiled. "Great! Uh…should we go?"_

_"Right! Yes! Going! That's…a thing…"_

_Shu giggled. How was it possible that their voice, face, attitude, and everything in between could be so gender non-specific? Their skin was fair and their frame lethe, but they also looked muscular and boxy at the same time. Their golden hair was long, going down to their hips, but even that wasn't a very clear indication of which gender they were, as it was easy to imagine them either way. Their voice was too soft and high for a male's, but also too rough and deep to be a female's either. There were usually distinct tones that could identify a voice, no matter how soft, rough, high or low, yet this was one of those cases where it was impossible to tell._

_Charon felt Shu's power, mixing with his own whenever they were even within a certain proximity to each other. It was so different, yet also so delicious. It was warming, so comforting, it made Charon relax and at the same time lit a fire within him that had been snuffed out ages ago._

_And by the gods, Charon couldn't get enough of any of it._

_As they boarded and took off, the pilot for them knowing the location already, they sat in the other room and geared up._

_"So, what's the mission again?" Shu asked._

_"We're just going on an intel mission, reconnaissance. The pilot will wait for us to return, and if we don't report back in within certain intervals of time, he'll try and contact us, and if that fails, he'll be the one to report our last known location and some kind of search team will be deployed."_

_"Cheery thought."_

_"We'll be fine. You're with me, after all. And your flying has gotten better. I'd say you're pretty powerful."_

_Shu kicked the metal floor beneath them. "I've got nature powers," They admitted. "Nothing more. I'm a quirky oddball of my kind that doesn't belong. I'm not powerful."_

_"You learned to hover within two days. I'd call that pretty powerful."_

_"I should've already been able to fly, to teleport. I'm sure even Rei knows how to, but she doesn't for my sake."_

_"Yet you still have the_ potential _to be strong, to get better. That's something not a lot of people have, and the potential is all you need to be successful. With a little effort added into the mix, of course."_

_"Maybe. I was never really born a fighter, though."_

_"Then what's with the big-arse sword?"_

_They suddenly seemed to realize they had their sword sitting in their lap. "It was born with it. Rei had two smaller magic swords. I'm not even sure why I was given it. A shield would've been more my style, but I tried leaving the sword at home one day, and I felt…empty, you know? Everything within me told me to get it back, and I knew that I needed it, for some reason."_

_"I think it's cool. And you wield the thing pretty nicely."_

_"Thanks."_

_There was an awkward silence within the ship, and Charon had too much time to notice how blue Shu's eyes were, how they tapped the heel of their foot while they was nervous or waiting for something to happen, how their fingers danced across the large blade sprawled across their legs, and how they bit their lip slightly when they wanted to say something but were holding back because they were too shy._

_"Something wrong?" Charon asked. "Or, at least…something on your mind?"_

_Shu looked like they'd been caught committing a crime. "Oh! Uh…just…just something…unimportant."_

_"Really?"_

_"Really! Um…okay_ maybe _it is a little important, but…"_

_"Then what? You can tell me anything, and I'd be happy to help if you're worried about something. Unless it's confidential. If it is, you don't have to tell me. I won't prod."_

_Of course offering the chance to not say anything, made people want to say something. Shu was no acception, as they opened their mouth to say something, before quickly retreating and biting their lip again (dammit, Charon was gonna kill them for looking so cute when they did that!) and then opening their mouth once more, only to have nothing come out._

_"I-I…well, you see, I…"_

_"Yes? Come on, I promise not to judge you. Fal'Cie's honor. Or…something. A lot of fal'Cie don't really have much honor, and those that do usually have it for the wrong reasons, but…point is, I promise!"_

_Shu continued stuttering, trying to fumble for words, before they seemed to get fed up with their mouth not complying and huffed, seemingly steeling himself and then taking a deep breath. "I-I like you! Maybe…maybe a lot more than I really should. A-And we only formally met a couple weeks ago, b-but I do! And…and I shouldn't, I know that! But…but I love your very presence when I feel your power mix with mine, a-and I think you're…not bad looking…a-and you're really nice, a-and it…it all seems too good to be true! Please tell me you're not fake! Please! If you are…I'd just…it'd hurt so much…!"_

_Shu began to sob, trying to hide their face to avoid embarrassing themself more than they already had. Why were they crying over this? Something so stupid? Charon probably thought they were a pathetic crybaby, always being so overdramatic, never able to stop talking about stupid things, ADHD to the point where they couldn't hold still for more than half a second on a good day._

_Now they'd probably just ruined whatever they had by saying that they_ loved _him. As if they couldn't get any more clingy and annoying. He probably barely tolerated Shu already, and now they were proclaiming attraction like some crazy girlfriend. Now Charon would avoid them at all costs, Shu would be left alone, and they'd never be able to see him smile at them again._

_"Shu, I…"_

_What did he want to say? That he_ was _lying at first, but now it was real? What could he possibly say that wouldn't sound fake? Why did he even have to debate this in the first place? Why was he so in love with this person? Why did he never want to leave them and want to make their sorrows go away at all costs? Why did he feel the urge every time he saw them to pull them closer, feel their touch, their power, as though it was the only thing keeping him alive?_

_And why didn't he stop himself when he stood, marched over to Shu, and desperately pulled them into a kiss, the urge to feel them overwhelming the fal'Cie until his limbs began to move on their own, needing to have Shu's body against his, feel their warmth and power mixing together._

_The feeling was more intense than he'd imagined. Not only was everything inside him burning from the kiss alone, but also he felt Shu's power full force, like he never had before. Sensing their power from proximity was one thing, 'accidental' brushes of skin contact was another, but this was a whole new level. Charon felt all the power coursing through him explode, to the point where he nearly was afraid he actually_ would _explode._

 _He didn't want the feeling to end, but he also didn't want to hurt Shu if he lost control of himself in his need for_  more. _Or explode. Exploding would be a bad thing._

 _Shoving them away, he realized that_ he _was the one who initiated the kiss in the first place. It was supposed to be_ Shu _falling in love with_ him _, dammit! What was wrong with him? What the hell was Shu doing? Was this some kind of power of Shu's that was turning Charon's plan against him?_

_"What?!" Shu asked, panicked. "I'm sorry! Did I do something wrong? I'm sorry! I-I shouldn't have…I'm sorry!"_

_Instantly, Charon forgot all about being tricked, a desire to comfort them overwhelming everything else._

_"Shu! Shu, it's fine! You're just…overwhelming. In a good way! You didn't do anything wrong."_

_"But…"_

_Charon sighed in exasperation as well as personal defeat, wrapping his arms around Shu. "I love you, too, Namir. I didn't think I'd love you this much, but I do. I don't think I could ever stand losing you. You've got me addicted like some human. And you know what? I think I'm okay with that."_

_And, unexpectedly, he meant every word. He never thought he would feel so attracted to someone, let alone the goofball that was Asushunamir, but in the end, he never wanted to let them go. He mentally cursed himself for falling so hard, but at the same time, he never thought love like this could exist, and felt so privileged to have found someone so perfect. He didn't know why Shu affected him so well, why they were so perfect, but he knew that he didn't want to lose them._

_He didn't want to lose someone he loved. He_  wouldn't _lose someone he loved. Not again._

* * *

As their ship flew high in the air, smaller airships flying around it for escort, Fang, Snow, and Shu stood on the deck, Snow's hands bound in cuffs. Around them, the clouds and sky mixed to create a beautiful scene, as well as show Snow that he was thousands of feet up in the air and jumping would not be advised.

"Couldn't run if you wanted to," Fang said.

Out of the clouds came a large ship, making the one they were on seem puny by comparison.

"Hoo-hoo-hoo! Look at you!" Snow commented. "Wonder what's under the hood of  _that_  thing?"

"Keep your pants on," Shu said. "You'll get a peek soon enough."

"Just try and behave," Fang requested, walking back to the control board to confirm her ID.

Snow followed her. "I'm not gonna make any promises."

Fang chuckled. "Cheeky boy, aren't ya? We'll see how long that lasts."

The ship connected to the Lindblum and was brought in for docking. A group of the soldiers escorted Snow off first, with Fang and Shu behind so that they weren't in targeting distance and could keep him in sight.

The soldiers in the docking bay already, some tending to other smaller fighter ships, all lined up upon the group's arrival, Snow walking forward begrudgingly. Some other aircrafts were coming in and being tended to, but at each station, at least one soldier stood at attention.

One of the soldiers ran up and walked next to Fang. "He's come to meet you."

She hummed in response, unsurprised.

"Welcome to the Lindblum, Sanctum Guardian Corps," Shu said cheerfully.

A man with dark black hair wearing clothes that looked more formal than anyone else there walked down the isle, the soldiers putting their arms across their chests in salute. Behind him was Charon, all decked out in his serious face, which Shu still found cute since they knew what Charon looked like when he smiled. To those who didn't know any better, Charon probably looked intimidating, but Shu could only smile at his scowl.

When the man and Snow met, the soldier beside him thrust his hand out. "Halt." The platoon of soldiers around Snow all saluted upon the man's approach, though Fang and Shu weren't obligated to do so, nor had Shu properly figured out how to do it properly. Was it the left arm, or the right arm? They'd seen both! And how high was their arm supposed to go? And what if they hit themself in the chest?

Barring that, Fang and Shu moved in front of Snow to join the man.

"You must be Snow," The man said before extending his hand. "Cid Raines. Brigadier general of the fleet."

Seeing as Snow's hands were bound and he wasn't in a good mood after being captured, he could only give Cid a glare. "Hi, Cid. Thanks for the escort."

Cid dropped his hand with a sigh, not that he hadn't expected Snow to be bitter. "Apologies. I just had a few questions to ask you."

A trio of Watchdrones hovered by, carrying Serah on her bed of crystal. "If it works like the tell us, that means she must have fulfilled her Focus."

Snow surged to move after her. "Serah!"

Fang shoved him back, her arm at his chin. She shook her head as he struggled against her, but she was plenty strong enough to hold him back.

"Fulfilled her Focus as a tainted Pulse l'Cie, that is," Cid continued.

Fang shoved Snow back to be restrained by the platoon of soldiers behind him. "You think she was out to  _hurt_  Cocoon?!"

"I'd hardly be alone if I did. When it comes to Pulse, who could claim to know anything? I need the truth, for the sake of Cocoon."

"'The sake of Cocoon…' We're  _from_  Cocoon! Shipping us out, Purging innocent people…That's how you lend us a hand?!"

Cid waved off the accusation. "Those are the Sanctum's methods. The public fears what it doesn't know. It's grown tired of living in constant terror of these threats from the world below. So, the Sanctum devised a plan for you l'Cie."

Snow glared. "I'll bet."

"A public execution."

Snow surged forward again but was held back.

"The people don't know any better. Strike down the phantoms before their eyes, and they sleep like babes."

At that statement, Snow shoved the guards holding him away in anger. "No!"

This time it was Charon who kicked him in the stomach and onto the floor, where the soldiers trained their guns on him once more. Fang sighed in exasperation, and Charon let out a smile. "He  _is_  a feisty one, isn't he?"

"The Sanctum has intelligence on the other l'Cie already," Cid said. "It's only a matter of time."

Snow let out a winded breath. "You'll never catch them."

"I see. We'll need your help then, won't we?"

Cid turned and walked off, leaving Fang to handle Snow.

Snow rolled to lean on his arms, defeated, though not giving up. "Serah…"

* * *

**_Day 7_ **

**_The Seaside City of Bodhum_ **

* * *

Rei sat at the table on the beach of Bodhum, watching the sunset. How did they always have a beautiful sunset in this place?

"So, how's your first week been?" Sai asked her, setting drinks down on the table.

"Interesting," She admitted.

"How are your powers going?"

"They're still too weak to be of much use. I can hardly sense Anima over in the Vestige. If I didn't know she was there already, I probably wouldn't be able to find out without getting much closer."

"You'll be up and ready to go in no time. Until then, my place is always open to you."

She smiled. "Thank you. You're race is…truly quite kind. Not what I expected."

"What did you expect?"

"Long ago, the people of Cocoon knew of Pulse as nothing more than another location. It wasn't heaven, it wasn't hell. Then, as generations went by, the people of Cocoon began to forget what it was like to live on the world below, and started calling it hell, despite having never known about it in the first place. I always considered the people of Cocoon to be lazy, relaxing day by day under the protection of their fal'Cie without even giving a thought to it. They called Pulse hell, yet they were too lazy to ever come and actually see that it was far from uninhabitable. They forgot what it was like here, they lived in luxury under the fal'Cie without even  _trying_  to go out, find things for themselves. I hated them for that."

"I guess we are like that. We always rely on the fal'Cie for everything, food, light, ruling the government. We never really want to lash out or try to find out things for ourselves. We  _are_  a bit spoiled, and no one ever tries to be proactive."

"And you lived in  _fear_  of us, calling us evil and uneducated, when really, you were the blind ones. It just infuriated me to no end. When Anima began the war, I wasn't going to help fight, it wasn't worth it, but I wasn't going to complain if she  _did_  bring down the shell, taught those humans to respect us."

"And what about now?"

"Now? A lot of you aren't much different, but you…you've given me a new take on the world, I suppose. Maybe not all of you are so bad. Maybe, in the 600 years I've missed, you've changed for the better, here and there, and that change will continue to grow. Thank you, for helping me."

"I couldn't just leave a girl to die in the forest, let alone leave you to the mercy of the government."

"You've put your life on the line to hide me, risked your world's wrath for my sake and my sake alone. I didn't think such selflessness existed in the world, whether it be in humans or fal'Cie."

"I'm just a bit different, I suppose. I grew up an orphan, barely knew my parents. But I was raised here in Bodhum, the entire town my family. At first, I was a pretty rebellious kid. I was angry, I wondered why I had been left alone in the world. It took time, but I realized that…I wasn't  _alone_. I just chose to perceive that I was. All I had to do was think differently, believe that I had people who cared about me. I knew things were hard, but I guess I also grew up optimistic. When people always told me Pulse was evil, that it was hell, I always thought, "Who's been there to witness it? Who's ever given Pulse a chance?" If the people of Bodhum hadn't given me a chance, where would I be? I probably would've grown up bitter, and I would've been the lonely, cut-off person that I believed I was."

"So people gave you a chance, huh?"

"And I gave you one. I always try to give people a chance when I can. Perhaps that makes me gullible, and it gives me more danger than I should have to deal with, but I know how to handle myself if things backfire on me. If you're used to people betraying you, it becomes easier to react to things, you aren't afraid of whether you'll be stabbed in the back or not since you're already prepared."

"Yet the world is not so simple. There aren't enough people like you in this life. Tragedies still happen. That girl over there, she was branded a Pulse l'Cie by Anima. I believe her wandering into Anima's Vestige is what woke us in the first place. I had heard from Anima that she'd branded someone. This place is so beautiful, so innocent. No one here should have to deal with the harshness of the war long since ended."

He looked to see a girl that couldn't have been older than 18 walking onto the dock across from the NORA house and staring out into the sunset sadly. "People like her, they should've never been brought into this. You should've never put your life on the line for me."

"Hey, have you guys seen Serah around?" Someone asked.

The big tall guy that was familiar with the NORA gang, their leader, if she remembered what Sai had told her correctly, hurried through, searching around frantically.

"Serah? No, I haven't seen her." "You and Serah have a fight?" "Get in an argument with her sister?"

"I think she went out to the docks," Sai called.

"Thanks!"

Snow ran off to Serah, who was apparently the girl branded a l'Cie standing at the docks. "That's Serah?" Rei asked.

"Yeah."

Serah was afraid, she wanted to turn away the one she loved if it meant keeping him far away from all of the l'Cie business, and the subsequent doom that came with it. It would mean she was unhappy, it would mean he was unhappy. But it would mean he was safe.

Yet Snow stayed with her. He knew he'd be in danger, he knew the odds were stacked against them. But being with her was worth it. She didn't know her Focus, she didn't know how to fulfill it or how long she had until she failed.

But Snow gave her hope. He made her strong when she was more terrified than ever before.

 _Even if death was all that she had waiting, nothing would've changed. Serah was brave enough to face it_.

"Is it worth it?" Rei asked.

"Hm?"

"A few moments of love, for a lifetime of pain?"

"Depends on the type, I suppose. If it's true, then yeah. Being together with someone you love, that's worth any amount of torture in the future. You have to consider, does it hurt more to live without them, or to die with them? We humans like to say that lives are worth more than love, but in the end, living is nothing if there's no love in it."

"I wonder what it's like to love. I know love of family, I know love of material objects or memories. I don't know what it's like to love someone romantically, however. The concept remains foreign to me."

"You've managed to surprise me about a lot of things. I'd say, finding a way to love isn't that far out of your reach."

She chuckled. "Perhaps you could help teach me of it?"

"It'd be my pleasure."


	11. But 'Sorry' Won't Cut It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "What's eating you?" Lightning asked. "Okay, I can tell you're hung up on something. Is it the l'Cie thing?" Lightning turned towards him. "It's Snow, isn't it?"
> 
> At that, Hope froze before looking down.
> 
> "What happened with him?" Rei asked.
> 
> "You wouldn't understand."
> 
> "Try me."

Lightning hurried past a gate, her gun drawn and on alert. She crouched defensively, looking forward into the glowing metal leaves of the Gapra Whitewood, before signaling for Hope to come through behind her.

"Can't believe we made it," Hope muttered.

Rei came in last, one of her pistols drawn, before working with a panel on the door as it closed. The door was large and bulky, and it was likely to be able to keep any pursuers from following.

"That'll slow down pursuit," She announced.

"But aren't there troops on this side?" Hope asked. "We can't relax just yet."

"Right," Lightning agreed. "We press on. I'll take point. You watch our backs."

Lightning moved to continue forward, when Hope suddenly said, "Actually…Why don't you let me take point?"

Rei looked at him, though not with extreme skepticism. "Can you handle it?"

Hope ran in front of Lightning, taking the lead. "It's not a question of can or can't."

Lightning smiled. "Now you're learning."

She nodded forward, and Hope smiled and nodded back, turning and heading forward.

"Keep your eyes front. We'll watch the rear."

"Got it," Hope said confidently.

Lightning could only smile at the boy's determination, as he was definitely growing to become more confident in himself.

Headed down the paths of metal, they were surrounded by the biomechanical forest.

"We've got your back," Rei said. "You call the shots now."

"Be wary, but don't be afraid," Lightning added.

They encountered mechanical beasts from PSICOM, but overall, there weren't many that became a problem. There were Frag Leeches, which didn't do any real harm, and the girls Blitzed away most of them while Hope threw his newly learned Fira spells. His Thunder spells were useful against the Thexterons, and he was advancing in his Synergist abilities to protect from elements such as Barfire.

The path was littered with mechanical monsters here and there, but they weren't much of an issue in the long run. Hope was eager to run into the battles, become stronger, and learn from them. He was beginning to take out enemies with his spells on his own, and was adapting intuition as to what spells each enemy was weak to.

"Don't go chasing after enemies," Lightning warned.

Approaching an elevator, it looked to be the only way forward.

"Have you ever been here before?" Hope asked Lightning. "On duty, I mean."

"No, I haven't. This area's covered by the Woodlands Observation Battalion."

"You scared?" Rei asked.

"Not really," He said. "I'm ready to fight if I have to."

Lightning turned towards him and reached into the bag on her upper thigh to pull out a switchblade hunting knife, holding it out to Hope. "To keep you safe," She explained.

Hope took it reluctantly, surprised by the act of kindness.

"I'll want it back," She added quickly, before turning towards the elevator.

"Lightning!" Hope called, stepping forward. "I'm glad I followed you. By myself, I would've had no chance."

Lightning said nothing, turning back towards the elevator and hopping on. "Time to move."

Hope nodded, and he and Rei hopped onto the elevator alongside her, Rei activating the controls. The elevator surged upwards, climbing what looked to be a tree covered in mechanical vines that was apparently the wall that the elevator climbed.

"This one only goes between where we came from and here," Rei reported. "We're gonna have to find another if we want to advance any further."

"Trust us to cover your tail," Lightning said, "and stay focused on moving forward."

They hurried through the paths, Hope moving quickly, and Rei told him, "Keep calm, kid. We don't need to rush."

"You're doing fine, Hope," Lightning assured him. "It's okay to take your time. Keep it up."

The usual suspects of Thexterons and Frag Leeches were the only real things that barred their path, much easier than the swarms of troops from back in the Vile Peaks.

"What is this place, anyway?" Rei asked.

"The military uses this place for bioweapons research. Lots of angry teeth and claws."

"So this is where they make all those mechanical monsters based off of real creatures?"

"Pretty much."

They encountered Vespids, who had a powerful Flurry of Fire attack, which Hope's Barfire helped protect against, as well as an Alpha Behemoth, which the girls make quick work of with Hope's staggering skills as well as his Protect spells that reduced its damage.

Looking into the sky as they walked, Hope suddenly looked on edge. "What is it?" Lightning asked.

"We need to hide!"

He grabbed each of their wrists and pulled them under one of the metal leaves covering the path. Three of those hovering motorcycles, this time with open cabins showing three soldiers piloting them, passed by overhead, missing the three despite the weak cover of the leaf.

"They don't seem like they're even looking for us," Hope noticed. "I mean, we're l'Cie and we're on the loose."

"PSICOM's keeping it all under wraps," Lightning guessed. "They don't want their failure publicized."

"Better to lose us than lose their pride," Rei finished. "Sounds just like them."

"So the other soldiers don't know about us, right?" Hope asked.

"Right. They don't know  _anything_  about any  _fugitives_."

They headed onto another elevator, this one taking them downwards, before they continued forward down the only path left to them. They encountered the usual suspects, Leeches, Thexterons, Vespids, and the occasional Alpha Behemoth.

"Concentration's important, but never lose sight of what's happening around you," Lightning advised.

"Never panic," Rei added. "Calm heads make good decisions."

"What's that?" Hope asked.

They came upon what looked to be a large, glowing gate, blocking the path forward.

"That's one bulkhead of a fal'Cie," Lightning said. "Stay on guard."

Rei looked over to the fal'Cie, and then walked over to it. It actually didn't seem hostile to the three of them, and seemed rather willing to let them through when they wished.

" ** _I don't care for such trivialities as war. I do what I can for the people around me, however, I will not attempt to impede you on your desperate flight from the Sanctum. There will be others far more fitted for the task than I in your future._** "

" ** _Uh, thanks?_** " Rei responded.

"I think we're good," Rei said aloud to the others. "The door should open when we're ready."

Hope had taken the moment to sit down and rest. "I wonder how the others are doing."

"Sazh, Vanille, and Sai?" Lightning asked. "Who knows? Even if they got away, they'll get caught eventually. Then they'll have to choose: resist or surrender."

"Sai won't be one to get caught," Rei said. "Maybe they'll be hunted for the rest of their lives, but at least they're safer than if they were with us. But who knows? Maybe the fate of a l'Cie will make them surrender, if it means keeping people safe from them?"

"Surrender…" Hope muttered. "Do you think  _he's_  still alive?"

"You mean Snow?"

"He's too stubborn to die," Lightning stated. "And that's his best quality. He's arrogant and chummy from the get-go. He thinks he's everybody's pal. Never liked him much. He leads around a bunch of kids - gang called 'NORA.'"

"Where'd they get the name 'Nora'?" Hope asked.

"It's a stupid acronym. Their little code. Stands for 'No Obligations, Rules, or Authority. Must be nice."

Hope stood, fury taking over his voice. "It's irresponsible."

The gate of the fal'Cie shimmered white, and Hope stomped through without hesitating. Lightning and Rei followed, Rei with a worried look on her face. Hope seemed to be getting mad, and anger tends to lead to rash decisions.

What about Snow had made him so angry? Sure, Snow was annoying as it was, but Hope seemed genuinely enraged at him for more than just annoyance.

On the other side of the fal'Cie gate, another elevator took them down to the bottom floor.

"There are a lot of feral creatures here, too," Lightning said. "They're a little different from the military breeds."

"So this is an army facility for turning wildlife into weapons," Rei summarized. "They aren't just making their monsters here, they're also studying real ones to make them docile enough to work with, yet feral enough to fight with."

"Civilians aren't allowed in here, are they?" Hope asked.

"We'll have to be sure and tell them if we see any," Lightning said.

"The fences are for containing the animals," Rei guessed. "If we take care of our pen-mates, they should power down."

The monsters in the first pen were a large pack of Silver Lobos. The wolves slashed with their claws like Pantherons and Thexterons, however they hit a lot harder, as well as used a Virulent Breath attack, letting out a wave of poison gas that inflicted, you guessed it, poison.

Rei was able to cast Esuna to cure it, but when one of them was poisoned, the wolves all converged on that person and used Envenonmate, doing serious damage that added up when they all targeted someone together.

They managed to handle the wolves, but there were a lot of them in the pens, probably making up the majority of everything down there. There were also Crawlers, feral slugs as opposed to the Frag Leeches form before, who were the mechanical versions of them.

"Wild animals can be even more violent and unpredictable than the trained-to-kill variety," Lightning said. "Be careful."

"They  _are_  more unpredictable, but that doesn't mean they don't have patterns," Rei said. "These guys have been held up in pens for all or most of their lives. They're far worse than regular wild animals. Wild animals do what they do to survive. These guys do what they do for entertainment, since they've got nothing better to do down here, and they're kept alive purposefully."

The Crawlers and the Silver Lobos took up all of the pens in that area, until they reached a gate that was open, but suddenly activated and closed them in. "Caged in like the animals," Lightning muttered.

A Feral Behemoth came jumping down, revealed to be the source of the pen's closing. Hope got to work on casting Protect as the monster ran up for its swiping attacks. Hope healed up any damage taken before he could get the spells in place, before they began to throw spells at the beast.

When the Behemoth stomped up to Lightning and then used Heave, she was sent flying up into the air, Hope's Protect spell the only thing that kept her conscious from the force of the blow as well as her blow with the ground when she came back down.

Hope and Rei quickly got to work at healing her, and in no time, she was back to full health, rolling to her feet and ready for action once more. Rei and Lightning used Sparkstrike and Aquastrike to do elemental damage with strength behind it, while Hope cast Thunder and Water spells. When the Behemoth was staggered, Lightning launched it up into the air and they went to town with their attacks, staggering the attack rates so that they kept it launched up and helpless as they struck it down.

"We've tripped the security alarm," Lightning said. "The Observation Battalion will be coming."

"Let 'em come," Hope said confidently, marching forward.

Rei gave a worried look to hope. He  _was_  becoming rash, as well as slightly overconfident in his abilities. Lightning and Rei had been trying to encourage him, but it seemed that Hope had taken it a bit too far, or possibly in the wrong way.

"You can handle a climb like this," Lightning said, jumping up the leaves and branches of one of the trees.

The leaves acted like a staircase, and the branches were plenty stable enough to climb as long as one kept their balance. There was a large group of Crawlers waiting for them at the top, and after the climb, Hope instantly had to start throwing Fira spells to hit them all, while Rei and Lightning Blitzed all of them down.

Hope ended up tired, panting and leaning forward on his knees once more.

"Take five," Lightning said, and Hope happily sat down for a break.

While he sat, Hope kept on playing with the switchblade Lightning had given him, sighing and flicking the blade open and closed. He tapped the but of the hilt on the ground, as if angry at it, but took weak to really lash out.

"What's eating you?" Lightning asked. "Okay, I can tell you're hung up on something. Is it the l'Cie thing?" Lightning turned towards him. "It's Snow, isn't it?"

At that, Hope froze before looking down.

"What happened with him?" Rei asked.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

Lightning walked over and kneeled down in front of him. "We are partners, Hope."

He looked up to her, before sighing and looking down at the floor once more. "My mother was killed," He admitted. "Because of him." Hope sheathed the blade and tapped the weapon down against the floor again. "It's his fault." He unsheathed the blade once more, staring at the sharp steel. "And he needs to pay for it. I'm not ready yet, but I will be. Soon."

He slipped the sharp edge back into the hilt once more and then stood up, putting the weapon in his pocket. "That's why I followed you. Snow dragged us all into this. You and me, your sister Serah, Sai and Rei…He's gotta pay."

With that, Hope marched forward once more, his determination only growing with the explanation for his anger. In reality, Hope had reason to be angry. He'd lost everything, and had no way forward in life. If taking revenge gave him the strength to keep going, then it was all he could do.

Really, Snow was as much of a victim as anyone else. His fiancée was turned into a l'Cie by accident, and Serah really could be the one accused of dragging both Snow and Sai into this, their drive to help her being what brought them to the Purge, to the Vestige, and consequentially Lightning and Rei as well.

If Sai had never helped Serah, if he had never been taken into the Vestige with Serah, then Rei might still be okay, living in secret in Bodhum, Sai's status as a high-ranking officer allowing him to keep his home, as well as hide her.

But maybe Anima could be the one to blame, for branding Serah, for causing the Purge. But even she was just a victim of circumstance, brought to Cocoon against her will after the war. That could put the blame on the one that brought her Vestige here in the first place.

They headed down another branch and into the pens once more. There were the usual suspects of Silver Lobos, and they finally found another branch to climb back onto the path a floor above to.

Coming to one of the leaves blocking the path, Lightning studied it for a moment before drawing her gunblade and slicing it with ease. The leaves didn't seem to be very durable, and it shattered easier than glass, as well as a lot more silent.

"Could I…use one of those?" Hope asked.

"Bit too heavy for you," She said, sheathing it.

Hope sighed and drew her knife once more, gripping it tightly, as though it was the only weapon he had left, his only lifeline. "Okay."

* * *

_**Day 12** _

_**The Seaside City of Bodhum** _

* * *

One day had passed. Two more until they would be safe.

Sai had Rei staying at his house for safety's sake, just in case PSICOM came looking.

Rei was a person who liked being outside, and so the confinement to a building for more than a few hours was a foreign concept to her. She wasn't so primitive as to not know what houses were, but back home, she was able to go out whenever she wanted.

 _Three days_.

It wasn't forever. She could still stare out the window to the sky, sunrise to sunset and sunrise again. It wasn't exactly like being outside, but it was enough.

Then, out of the Farron residence, Serah, the l'Cie, went running out, crying.

"Hey, Sai, isn't that…?"

He came over to the window and saw her fleeing to the beach.

"Serah? Oh, that's right. It's her sister's birthday today."

"Farron? Lightning?"

He nodded. "Maybe she found out her sister was a l'Cie."

"That's gotta be rough. Her sister's job is to hunt her down, to kill her."

"I wonder if Farron even believed her in the first place. I saw them out shopping, getting her a present, earlier this week. A knife, I think. How practical. Serah really cares for her sister, and I doubt she'd be good at or even  _want_  to keep such a big secret from her. Of course, convincing her of it won't be an easy task, and even if she  _does_  manage to convince her, well…"

"Why would Farron not believe her sister of something so serious?"

"Pulse l'Cie are rare around here,  _fal'Cie_  are rare. There hasn't been a recorded instance of something Pulse-related being found since the war. She might as well be telling her sister that she met a real-life angel - or demon. There are some who believe they exist, but no easy evidence of them, so a lot of people don't believe when someone just pops out and says they saw one. It's just too far-fetched to be believed."

"What if she shows her a brand?"

"She'll just think it's a tattoo, something easily fabricated."

Rei sighed, turning to the window once more. "I'm worried about her. She should be taking cover if she's a Pulse l'Cie."

"Want me to go and check on her?"

"Better you find her than any other soldier."

"All right. I'll be back."

* * *

"Serah…" Lightning muttered. "I should have listened to you."

Continuing through the Whitewood, they battled through the monsters and continued down the path.

"I think I'm getting the hang of fighting, thanks to you," Hope said.

Both Rei and Lightning shared a glance of worry. Sure, it was good that Hope was learning to fight, better for his survival chances, but at the same time, if he was doing this for revenge…even Snow doesn't warrant such anger and rage.

They encountered some Barbed Specters, the monsters that the Vespids were based off of, with more Crawlers and Lobos. They did encounter a couple Feral Behemoths as well, to which Lightning responded by charging in.

"You picked the wrong fight," She declared.

So then they staggered him, launched him into the air, and made sure he had no time to recover before he was dead. They continued up and down the lowest level of platforms down to the pens until they finally found an elevator that took them up again.

After fighting a large pack of Lobos, they found a platoon of fallen soldiers. "What happened here?" Hope asked.

"Bad luck," Rei guessed. "They came looking for us, and found something worse."

"We can't just leave them like this!"

"Don't touch anything!" He moved to reach for one, but Lightning shoved him back hard enough to knock him off his feet. "Control your emotions. If you want to survive, you forget about sympathy."

Hope looked down, ashamed.

Lightning turned and paced. "How can I explain?"

After a moment of thought, it hit her, and she turned to kneel down in front of Hope. "Think of it like a strategy. Focus on your ultimate goal, and shut out everything else. Still your mind. Move on instinct." She stood and turned. "Let doubt take over, and despair will cripple you."

Hope stood, looking thoughtful. "Strategy. Good. I'll take anything to help me get through this."

Lightning nodded, and Hope stepped forward, looking to the floor. "I'll call it, 'Operation Nora.'"

"NORA?" Rei asked.

"My mother's name."

She processed what that meant and took a step forward quickly. "Your revenge?"

He nodded. "Yes. Don't tell me. I know getting revenge on him won't…bring her back." He reeled on them. "I know that! But…" He took a shaky breath. "But 'sorry' won't cut it."

There was a hint of desperation taking over Hope's face. He needed  _something_  to vent his anger on. He lost his mother, lost his future, lost his home, and had nothing. Who could he rage at? Anima was gone, the Sanctum was too vague an answer. Snow was a simple target in front of him, one he knew, one he hated, and one that he could set his sights on killing.

Lightning looked down with a sigh. She saw Hope's determination, saw that his drive was wrong. She never meant to spur the boy into reckless rage, she only wanted to help him survive in such a harsh world, a harsh situation, that they were stuck living in. Lightning may have hated Snow, but did that really mean she was okay with Hope trying, and possibly succeeding in, killing him?

"Snow didn't kill your mother," She said. "The Sanctum did."

"Whose side are you on?!" He demanded.

"The side of truth," Rei stated. "Hope…just…it wasn't Snow who killed her. The Sanctum's responsible for all of this. The Purge, the world's hatred of us and this man-hunt. Don't think killing one man will solve anything. There are more people guilty for things than just Snow."

Hope turned away, pulling out the knife again. "Fine. I'll fight the Sanctum with you. I'll learn to survive."

 _How can you judge someone else, when you know that you're the same? Even I have dark secrets. Secrets I'd rather forget_.

Somehow, things had gone so wrong. Hope had started out as a boy with no confidence in himself, and he wasn't going to survive like that. In trying to motivate him to get stronger, they had inadvertently gone too far, fanning the flames of his despair into anger instead, and now, there was no way to put out the fire that was raging within the boy, threatening to consume him.

They faced some Corps Watchmen and Corps Marksmen as they continued through the Whitewood, who were using Enfire to enhance their attacking power. The troops seemed to be more frequent here, as there were also Milvus Velocycles, which were  _always_  fun.

They came upon a large elevator, one that looked to have been made for transporting large vehicles up and down, and it seemed to lead to the exit to the Whitewood as well, as the colors of the forest were beginning to become green rather than blue.

When the elevator reached the top floor, a giant mechanical monster with giant petals of a flower on top of it's body jumped down in front of them. It squeaked with a sound similar to the combination of a monkey and a bird.

Hope drew his boomerang. "This is it. Operation Nora!"

With that thought, Hope charged in with a cry of battle to face the Aster Protoflorian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boom! *Mic drop* The entire Gapra Whitewood summarized in a single chapter! (I mean, minus the boss fight, but close enough!) I feel so proud of myself.


	12. Taken to The Vestige

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "All this dampness is damp," Sazh complained.
> 
> "Stop dampening the mood," Sai ordered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You miss one damn day of school and suddenly your entire week is full trying to make up for tests and quizzes, and lessons, and everything in between.
> 
> Also, boss battles aren't very interesting, so it wasn't very good encouragement when suffering from writer's block. I've got a great story planned, but this game is so long. But hey, I started this story, and I intend to finish it.
> 
> Eventually.

Hope instantly began throwing spells aggressively, while Lightning and Rei charged in for a direct attack. They then moved to Ravager and started building up a chain, but the Protoflorian stomped over and raised its front legs before slamming them down, the petals on its head expanding outwards into a whirlwind, slashing at the group with hurricane force from its Efflorescence.

Rei quickly went to healing everyone, while Hope cast Protect and Shell as fast as he could. Lightning went in for the attack, and the Protoflorian kicked its front feet at her and knocked her back before its petals flared open and let out a missile-like orb of energy that exploded on impact and knocked Lightning back. She rolled to her feet as Rei healed her up again and Hope began throwing spells.

The Protoflorian braced itself and spun its petals, an icy aura taking over it. The three began throwing a barrage of Fire and Fira spells at the Protoflorian and healing whenever they took too much damage, building up the stagger. Now that the monster was ice-infused, it hit with ice based damage which hit a little harder than normal.

Lightning occasionally switched to Commando in order to attack and keep the stagger gauge up, but otherwise, it was a pretty smooth process.

The Protoflorian switched to an electric aura, and the group quickly switched to throwing Water spells, and Lightning and Rei were using Aquastrike in order to do more physical based spell damage as well. Hope did the healing after an electric-based Efflorescence, and they continued battling through the constant attacks while building the stagger gauge.

The Protoflorian changed to be water-based, absorbing a couple of thrown spells that were intended for the lightning-based aura, but the group was quick to change to Thunder spells afterwards.

Lightning finally managed to stagger the beast with a Sparkstrike, and Rei instantly went to work with Launch, throwing the large machine up into the air where she and Lightning attacked the shit out of it while Hope threw as many spells as he could to raise the stagger damager ever further.

The Protoflorian managed to survive to the end of the stagger and switched to Exoproofing: Fire, running up to Lightning and launching her high into the air with a head-but before jumping up after her, flipping in the air, and then slamming her down to the ground.

Rei got to work throwing a barrage of Cures while Hope cast a few Barfire spells. They went t work casting Blizzard spells, facing a fire-based Efflorescence as well as the missile-attacks, the physical attacks, and another of what would now be dubbed as the Slam-Dunk attacks.

The mechanical monster switched to ice and used an Efflorescence before the group managed to finally stagger it a second time. Lightning did the Launching this time, Hope throwing Fira spells while Lightning attacked and Rei cast smaller and faster Fire attacks.

With one final Smite from each of the ladies, the Aster Protoflorian was dead, and the group sheathed their weapons.

"Operation Nora, Stage One complete," Hope muttered.

Rei went to work on opening the final door out of the Whitewood.

"You did well," Lightning told him.

The Whitewood was now opening up completely into normal wildlife, turning more and more green rather than blue, before they came to the end of the metal paths to find a view of a city by the water not far off.

"That's it," Hope said. "Palumpolum."

"That's where you live, right?" Lightning asked. "We'll stop in when we get there."

Considering Lightning had previously stated 'No side trips,' this was a pretty generous offer. She had changed a lot in her opinion of Hope, and who could really blame her? Hope was now determined to kill someone, and Lightning was trying to be a little more gentle in her approach at guiding the boy.

But Hope shook his head. "No. We're l'Cie now, and no one's there but my dad."

Rei put her hand on his shoulder. "Hope…you need to at least let him know what happened."

Reluctantly, Hope gave a small nod.

* * *

"All right, let's do this thing!" Shu shouted, pumping a fist.

"Time to hunt some l'Cie!" Fang agreed.

"So what, we find 'em and that's that?" Snow snapped.

"Don't get all hot and bothered," Charon said.

Snow scoffed and turned away, holding his crystal tear in his hand. "Serah…Am I doing the right thing?"

* * *

**_Day 12_ **

**_The Seaside City of Bodhum_ **

* * *

The fal'Cie Vestige pulsed with energy, a holographic image appearing and letting out a scream.

"There they are! This way!"

Snow and Serah ran hand-in-hand through Bodhum, soldiers hot on their trail.

"Stop 'em!"

"In, in, in!" Sai shouted, waving them forward.

Snow hopped into one of the Velocycles that Sai had prepared and Serah quickly jumped onto his lap. Sai spun his Velocycle around, knocking the Corp soldiers back, giving Snow time to activate his and take off across the water.

"Bring 'em down!" The soldiers fired their guns, one shooting an RPG, but Sai swept the ground troops off their feet before following the two.

A fleet on their own Velocycles quickly gave chase, and with the constant attacks, the group was forced towards the Vestige. Sai knew how to fight in a Velocycle by heart, and so he managed to fly backwards and fire back at the chasers, making sure to hit only the cycles themselves so that they crashed into the water.

Snow ended up scratching and damaging his cycle in dodging an attack, and Sai got a direct hit to the motor on his, forcing him to jump. He grabbed onto Snow's already wobbling aircraft and drew his gun, firing on the final cycle that had been pursuing and taking it down.

Snow hovered the craft in front of a platform on the Vestige and Sai quickly hopped off the unstable vehicle before it lost power.

"Jump!" Snow ordered.

Serah turned and hopped onto the platform, Sai balancing her landing, before she turned back to Snow who was trying to stabilize the aircraft enough that he could make a solid jump to join them. "Snow!"

Sai was suddenly sucked in by the metal behind him, which he had previously thought was solid, but it turned out to have been as malleable as liquid. Before he knew it, he was swimming in the liquid metal, only his head free and any struggling useless, as the substance moved forward to capture Serah, its intended target.

She turned upon hearing Sai's shout of surprise before screaming and reaching out for Sai's hand and then pulling, reaching her other hand out to Snow.

"Serah!"

Their fingers barely brushed before the liquid tentacles snatched Serah's arm and got a grip on her, pulling her into the pool of churning silver sludge with one final scream.

Then, metal doors snapped shut across them, blocking off any small hope of escape, before releasing a blast of energy, sending Snow's already shaky hovercraft to the ground.

"Sai!"

Rei ran to the beaches where Snow's smoking vehicle was aimed to land and held out her hands.

" ** _Come on, come on, come on, come on!_** "

Her hand sparked to life with power and Snow's ship was surrounded by an aura of electricity. As it came in, Rei held her ground and caught the craft, taking the blunt of the impact and dispersing it similar to the Grav-Con units and only sliding about twenty feet into the sand before she brought the hunk of metal to a stop.

Snow fell out and rolled across the sand from the sudden stop, but at the least, he was alive.

He struggled to stand and looked to the Vistage, taking a few steps forward before falling to his knees panting.

"Serah…"

"Sai…oh, gods, no! Anima what have you done?! Anima! Anima, do you hear me?! ANIMA!"

The fal'Cie, though fully capable, did not respond.

* * *

_I went to the fal'Cie hoping to help her. But I was too late._

_I wanted him to avoid the fate Anima had in store for him. I could've prevented it. I could've saved him. But I didn't. I wasn't able to stop what happened, even though I was given the chance_.

* * *

Fang walked up and whacked Snow as hard as she could on the shoulder, but because he was so tall, she didn't get the angle right and ended up hitting her wrist at a bad angle, hissing in pain.

"Ow," Snow complained.

"I knew you were hard-headed, but…"

Snow cracked his neck. "That was…ow!"

"Snap to it!" Charon ordered. "We're rolling out."

"Yeah, yeah," Snow muttered. "Hunting l'Cie, right?"

"Right-y-o!" Shu said, bouncing on the balls of their feet.

" _This is our chance!_ " The announcer guy said over the intercom. " _Do not let the l'Cie escape! Move out!_ "

"I call driving!" Shu shouted.

"Nope," Charon said, dragging them off to their Velocycle. "No way am I trusting you at the wheel. I plan to live long enough to see tomorrow."

"So cruel, Chare. I thought you loved me."

"I love living more."

Shu gasped dramatically, trying to look offended.

Charon couldn't help but smile. "Just get on behind me, dork."

"Well since you asked so nicely…"

Shu was still smiling when they hopped on behind Charon, wrapping their arms around his waist. "See you there, Fang!" Charon called before gunning the engine.

"Whee!" Shu called.

Snow saw at his vehicle, clenching his crystal tear in his fist. "I will keep my promise, Lightning."

* * *

Sai, Vanille, and Sazh walked through the landscape as it transformed from the junkyard of the Vile Peaks to the wilderness of the Sunleth Waterscape.

Vanille skipped forward, giggling as she looked around. She stretched her arms up and then sighed as she put her hands on her hips. "Fresh air! Nice!" She declared.

"So?" Sazh asked. "Where we headed?"

"Don't know."

"You don't know?" Sai asked. "I thought you had somewhere in mind, the way you took off."

She smiled innocently and put her hands together behind her back. "I followed the smell," She explained.

"What?" Sazh asked.

She walked over and sniffed some flowers. "It smells nice. All naturey."

Sazh sniffed the air. "Just smells damp. And I think something bit me."

Vanille put her hand to her chin in thought, before the sound of bird shouts got her attention.

"Hide!" Sai ordered, pulling them under one of the branches from a large tree.

Above, numerous ships flew past. "Skyfleet," Sazh recognized. "Closest city that way is Palumpolum."

"Not good," Sai muttered. "I wonder if those three were caught in the net."

"What do we do?" Vanille asked.

"What do we do?" Sazh repeated. "Right now, what  _can_  we do?"

"We can avoid getting captured with them," Sai said. "Better we steer clear until things die down. If they're captured, they're captured, but best we make sure that not all of us are caught together."

"Right, no choice," Vanille summed up. "We run…the other way."

Sazh sighed and turned. "Which would be…to Nautilus."

He walked forward in deep thought, and Vanille looked guilty for making him sad, even though she had no idea what she'd done.

 _As we set off, it was like he'd forgotten that I was still there_.

"If we want to get to Nautilus, our road's through here," Sazh declared, hurrying forward through the jungle path. "First things first, we need to clear these woods."

A group of plants suddenly rose out of the ground to reveal tomato-like monsters. "Flan," Sai recognized. "Flandragoras."

"Now there's a sight I didn't want to see," Sazh muttered.

The gooey monsters actually weren't hard. Vanille threw Aero, Thunder, Water, and Fire spells to find out that Fire was the most effective, despite the red tomatoes, which one would think would  _absorb_  fire, but no complaints. This  _was_  a forest, after all. Fire might not be the nicest thing for the creatures here.

"All this dampness is damp," Sazh complained.

"Stop dampening the mood," Sai ordered.

They  _were_  walking through puddles of water as they headed through the shaded area. There even seemed to be crystals here, which either formed of normal circumstances or weren't actually crystals but some kind of evolved form of plant. Sai took a piece of one for a souvenir.

There were some Hedge Frogs in the area, but the group had become stronger, and one Blitz of bullets from Sazh and two were dead, the other taking only one strike of the sword to slay.

Sai had to admit, having two swords was useful, one in each had, and the two blades that Rei had given him were powerful. He had a silver and a gold sword, symbols and names at the base of each blade - Argentum and Aurum - as well as the red ribbons tied around the hilts to signify they were his.

"Well, I guess this is better than homicidal scorpion robots and mountains of trash," Sash muttered.

"Exactly," Sai agreed. "This place would make a nice picnic spot - minus all the uninvited guests. And wouldn't a treehouse be cool? With internet, of course."

They found a small group of Hedge Frogs, but just as they ran up to attack, a Flandragora sprouted out of the ground, completely camouflaged.

"Ah, where's the weed killer when you need it?" Sazh muttered.

Vanille threw an Aerora, instantly killing the two Hedge Frogs as well as tossing the Flandragora up into the air. As it wasn't staggered, there was no way to keep it up there with attacks, but it did disable the thing long enough that the l'Cie were able to batter it with fire spells until it was dead before it could even pick itself up.

"Try to be just a little quiet for a minute, okay?" Sazh requested. "For all we know, there could be soldiers nearby."

They hopped over a couple of tree trunks to find a circle of Gremlins, which Sazh promptly Blitzed and Vanille threw an Aerora at. With a final Blitz from Sai, they were dead and gone.

They came across an area that was filled with Flandragoras, and Sazh called, "Great! This year's a bumper crop!"

"Nothing like a nice trek through the forest," Sai added.

They passed a couple of waterfalls that seemed to be the cause of the puddles of water along the path, and then headed out of the trees and into a more open area.

"There should be a dock on the other side of those trees," Sazh said, running forward.

They walked out to find themselves standing at a cliff, the forest and ocean able to be seen meeting in the middle, with slight storm clouds and an iridescent sheen across the sky.

"Hey, Sazh, Sai? Tell me about yourselves," Vanille requested.

"Huh?"

"Any family?"

"I have a little boy," Sazh admitted.

She turned with a smile. "Oh! So you're married!"

"I…I  _was_ , yeah…"

She turned and walked forward. "We gotta get you home. Your son needs you!"

Sazh didn't say anything, walking towards the cliff and looking out at the beautiful scene.

"Come on, we'll make it!" Vanille encouraged.

Sazh sighed. "It's too late."

Vanille put her hands on her hips. "Is it the l'Cie thing?"

He turned quickly. "How'd you-?"

"You might be a l'Cie, but you're still a daddy."

He sighed. "You're right."

"So…what's his name?" Sai asked.

Sazh turned back to the sky in deep thought.

* * *

_**Day 11** _

_**The Seaside City of Bodhum** _

* * *

"Dajh."

A small boy turned from the fireworks and smiled. "Hey, dad!"

"A father and son," Sai noticed.

"Another reason why this place deserves to be protected," Rei said as they walked past. "Another person who shouldn't have ever been dragged into things."

"What do you mean?"

"The boy is a l'Cie. A l'Cie of Lindzei, but it makes little difference. See that woman? Long hair, glasses? She's Sanctum. Probably the kid's 'bodyguard' looking after him while he visits his father."

"A child that young?!" Sai exclaimed.

"I know. On Pulse, things that were happening on a daily basis."

"What? Why?"

"The fal'Cie didn't care as much for humans. As far as they were concerned, humans were nothing but mere tools. They branded them l'Cie day after day, adults, and even children. I wouldn't be surprised if they've sucked the human population of Pulse dry by now. Anima did most of the branding where I lived. She was always sending humans off to slay monsters. Some were easy, but a lot weren't. Only about a tenth of people she ever branded transformed into crystal. Maybe they remain so even now."

"You think?"

"Crystals can't be destroyed easily. Though they may seem fragile, a crystal the size of a human would take millennia to be worn away by erosion, and larger objects, such as a lake or cavern etc., can take centuries at the least."

"How about that? Your wish came true!"

The father picked his son up and lifted him onto his shoulders, a little chocobo chick flying around beside them.

"Hopefully that boy will have someone beside him if he completes his Focus."

"Maybe you?"

She shrugged. "Perhaps. I'm not sure how I'd do with children though."

"You'd make a great mom."

"I think you'd be a better one than I would. A dad, I mean. You'd make a terrible mother."

"Hey!"

"Well, actually, if you were gonna fall in love with some other guy, I'd think you'd be the mother figure in the relationship."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're a sweetheart. It's not a bad trait."

"Hey, I am a tough and strong warrior."

"But you're also a big ball of cuteness. Reminds me of…a friend of mine."

" _That_  friend, the one you always talk about?"

She nodded.

"Who are they? Are they, like, a lover, or…?"

"They're…the closest thing I ever had to family. I was more a babysitter than anything else, always keeping them out of trouble and looking after them. But yes, I loved them with all my heart. I wonder if they're out there now. I wonder if they can even survive ten minutes without me there to watch over them."

He hesitated. "I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to apologize for. Life happened the way it happens. But…thanks to you, I'm better off than I could be. Thank you again, Sai."

"No problem."

She took his hand and laced their fingers together. "I mean it."

He mustered a smile. "I know you do."

* * *

"Sazh?" Vanille asked.

She had knelt as Sazh zoned out, staring at the scene ahead of him. "Huh?"

"You all right?"

"Uh, oh. Yeah."

She stood. "Come on, Pops! You've really got to keep it together, okay? Now. Let's go?"

He sighed and put his hands to his hips. "Now I've got kids looking out for me. Some dad I am."

They headed down the terraces of the cliff, taking them all the way down to the water. "Well, would you look at that view?"

They faced a Scalebeast, which was covered in a hard shell. Attacks and magic alike did little damage, and Vanille's debuffs weren't easy to apply. They tried to stagger it, but it had some serious chain resistance, and the stagger gauge wasn't going to go up quickly.

Sazh moved to Synergist to cast Bravery, Faith, and Vigilance, but was suddenly hit by a large zap of lightning from the Scalebeast's Shocking Breath attack. Sai threw a Phoenix Down to him while Vanille struggled to keep the chain alive while now being targeted by the monster's bite attacks.

Sazh got to work on casting his Synergist buffs while Sai threw Ruin spells, and then the three of them threw all the magic they could at it, Vanille having to heal someone occasionally. When they finally staggered it, the Scalebeast lost its carapace and glowed with the trademark golden shine.

Vanille was able to get on her debuffs in one shot each, and attacks did significantly more damage, certain elements becoming weaknesses as well. With that, it took only one stagger to defeat the creature before it regenerated its hard shell.

Once it was gone, they continued down the terraces, deciding to avoid the slow Scalebeasts when they could and just enjoying the view.

"I know someone who'd love to be seeing all of this," Sazh muttered. "I know now's no time to be taking in the scenery, but even a fugitive's gotta catch his breath."

"Case in point," Sai agreed.

There were more Gremlins further down the terraces, their groups coming in larger numbers which did allow them to get in a few more spells than previously, but nothing too serious. Eventually, they reached down to the sea level and passed beside the cliff under some large trees and rocks.

"Where's a camera when you need one?" Sai asked.

Finding one of the large trees with roots that stuck up and had grass growing on them, Sazh took a seat on one of them with a sigh.

Vanille noticed and put her hands on her hips. "You look tired. Not enough sleep?"

"I guess," He muttered, not really paying attention.

She chose to try and keep the mood up, turning around with a hand to her chin and another resting at her elbow. "Not surprising. Cute girl like me, it's hard to close your eyes, huh?"

Sazh pulled his feet up and then laid back on his side. "I'm just gonna lie down for a bit."

She turned in surprise to see he was serious and contemplated what to do.

"Might as well get in a little more rest," Sai said. "We're not in too big a rush, and a nap might do some good."

He sat down against the tree trunk and Vanille stretched before sitting down on another of the roots covered in grass. Sazh's chocobo chick flew out of his hair and over to Vanille's hands.

She smiled and held her up. "Being made a l'Cie, it's not easy. I mean, look, even I'm kind of worried."

The bird gave a small chirp in response.

"But even if we don't know what'll happen, we have to keep our dreams alive," Sai said. "Have something to look forward to, you know? Something to keep us going, something to hope for, and to place all our miracles."

"Next stop is Nautilus, City of Dreams," Sazh said.

Vanille smiled and nodded. "Yup.

She let the chocobo fly, and she hurried back to her home in Sazh's hair. Vanille stretched once more before lying down and allowing herself some rest.


	13. Euride Gorge and Meeting Hotareichan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was a rustle in the bushes behind her, and she jumped, turning instantly and letting her power spark forward. A bolt of lightning shot from her extended hand, destroying a tree and setting a bush on fire.
> 
> "Whoa…lady, uh…how did you do that?"
> 
> "I…I am Hotareichan! Leave me in peace, human, and I might let you depart unmarred."
> 
> "Okay, Hota-whatever-you-just-said. Just take it easy, all right?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not dead!
> 
> I have not abandoned this story!
> 
> Amazing!
> 
> Sorry. I hate finals and you should too.
> 
> My friend got me into a Shadowhunters mood, then a Sherlock mood, then a Supernatural mood, and the next thing you know I'm binging like crazy and also having to focus on tests in every class and those aren't even the official semester finals!
> 
> My Shadowhunters story seemed to get a lot more attention, so I focused on that, but I'm here once more.

When Vanille woke up, it was to a chocobo chick jumping on her head and chirping.

She rubbed her eyes and sat up before looking around, but the boys were nowhere to be seen. "What? Sazh? Sai?"

The chocobo chick chirped and flew off, and Vanille stood, hurrying after it down past a rock to see Sazh was standing down near the water, just staring off into the distance while Sai was doing the same, picking a flower and tossing them into the water.

Vanille walked down over to them, but if either was aware of her presence, neither reacted. She kneeled by the water, but still nothing.

"Guys?"

Sazh flinched and looked around to see Vanille behind him, while Sai picked another petal and tossed it to the water, seeing the ripples move almost hypnotically.

"You scared me," Sazh said half-heartedly.

"What's up?" She asked gently.

Sazh looked back down to where he had been staring. "I'm just thinking."

"Don't blame yourself," She said, brushing her fingers through the grass. "You know, you can't control, who a fal'Cie picks for a Focus."

Sazh hesitated. "My son Dajh. He was picked. He's a l'Cie."

* * *

**_Day 5_ **

**_Euride Gorge_ **

* * *

_He said he wanted to see a fal'Cie. So, I took him to go on a tour of the Euride Gorge plant. Thought I'd surprise him with a chocobo chick to take home, but the second I turned my back_ _…into the energy plant he went._

"You two, let's move," Shu ordered.

"Wait, who the hell are-?!"

They quickly put their hand over Fang's mouth to silence her.

"Dajh!" Someone shouted. "Dajh, come out here!"

"Shut up and run," They repeated, and this time, the l'Cie didn't argue.

"Dajh! I know you're in here! Dajh!"

He coughed and tried to wave away the heavy smoke covering the place.

"Where are you?! Say something!"

He looked over through the clearing smog and saw a boy lying unconscious on one of the seats near an observation deck. "Dajh!"

He rushed over to Dajh and kneeled next to him. "Hey! What's wrong? Dajh!"

He shook the boy lightly and he stirred, his eyes opening. When he noticed the man above him, he smiled. "Daddy!"

His father sighed. "It's all right. You okay?" He looked up and down his son. "You're not hurt, are you?"

He then took the boy's right hand and saw a fresh new brand of Lindzei peeking out from his jacket sleeve.

"What's that?"

_Apparently, those Pulse l'Cie had snuck in and tried to attack the Sanctum fal'Cie. It did the only thing it could, and made Dajh a l'Cie to protect it._

A group of staff came into the room and the man called them over frantically to his son.

_My son, he got picked by a Sanctum fal'Cie. He's a hero._

He shouted to the men in a panic as the brand was found and shown. He begged for something to be done, for some explanation, some way to save him.

 _But we're Pulse l'Cie - Dajh's_  enemies.

A woman walked in, dressed in a military-style outfit with glasses and waist-long blonde hair. There was also a man with her, but clearly she was the one in charge.

_PSICOM showed up right after that to take custody of him. And then, it was one test after another. Even then, they couldn't figure out his Focus._

The man shouted angrily, held back by the coming PSICOM man and he desperately demanded answers.

_Maybe it was look for Pulse l'Cie, maybe it was kill 'em. Either way_ _…_

_How could a kid that young even stand a chance?_

* * *

"After he was made a l'Cie, Dajh had…some way of sensing things from Pulse. He was the one who found the Pulse fal'Cie. But the kid can't fight. So…that's why I put myself on the train to Purgeville. I figured his Focus  _had_  to have something to do with… _destroying_  that Pulse fal'Cie. Thought I could do it for him, and, well…you know the rest. If I was  _right_  about his Focus, he's probably a crystal already. Of course, if he was  _supposed_  to take out that thing's l'Cie…"

Sazh drew one of his pistols. "…then either we die, or he's a Cie'th."

"Die?" Sai asked reluctantly. "Really?"

Sazh held up his weapon to look at it and sighed. Vanille looked down in sadness, and Sai dropped his flower stem into the water to float away. The chocobo chick flew over to land on the pistol and held its small wings up, shaking its head no.

Sazh couldn't help but chuckle. "It's a pickle all right. But the bird - the bird says no."

He dropped his weapon and the chick flew over to land on his shoulder.

"Are they…are they  _all_  really that bad?" Sai asked. "Fal'Cie, I mean. Can't…isn't there  _some_  fal'Cie out there that's…I don't know. Nice? That doesn't like branding people, or at least gives better hints or something?"

"Maybe. If there is one, I'd appreciate a little help right now."

Sazh walked off, and Sai sighed before standing and joining Vanille in following after him.

"All right then," Sai said, stretching.

They headed through a small cavern of rocks and came out to find party cloudy skies that they'd seen from above the cliff. The most notable thing, however, was the glowing white orb floating about three feet off the ground and letting out wisps of matching white energy down to the rocks below it. There even seemed to be bubbles hovering around.

"What  _is_  that?" Sazh asked, rubbing the back of his head.

Vanille reached out gently and cautiously before tapping the orb. It suddenly popped like a balloon with a loud whooshing ring, and Sazh jumped back in surprise. "Whoa!"

Vanille exclaimed in surprise as rain began to fall and the nearby pack of Gremlins ran off.

"Huh. A device that makes bad weather," Sazh mused.

"Oh, so that must be why the sky was shimmering," Sai realized. "Artificial weather controls."

Then they saw that a pack of Hedge and Mud Frogs had rolled in in place of the Gremlins.

"Come out to play in the rain, did you?"

"Hmph, isn't that adorable?"

They all shrugged.

"What do we do now?"

The orb had reappeared, though this time it was glowing golden and had wisps of sunlight like from the fal'Cie Phoenix around it.

"This must turn it back to partly cloudy weather with the Flans," Sai concluded.

"Now, if we regulate the weather, we might be able to control these nasty critters," Sazh added.

"Right," Vanille nodded.

They hurried their way through, changing the weather occasionally. The Gremlin packs seemed to come in both weathers, but it depended on the location of which weather they preferred to be in. The definite patterns were the Flandragoras and Wyverns being in sunny weather, and the Scalebeasts and Frog packs being in the rainy weather.

The biggest problem they faced was a Wyvern - the organic monster that the Garuda had been based on - that spit out an orb of acid that inflicted Deprotect before flying down and using its Bite attack, turning so that the second and larger mouth on its body could use a powerful homing bite, the damage devastating combined with the status effect.

Sazh was the first to succumb to the double-attack, and Vanille was working furiously to keep everyone's health up with the regular wing-swipe attacks being so damaging. She threw a few Curas while Sai managed to get in a Poison.

They managed to stagger it, and even then the damage it was taking wasn't too big, and it was over before they could realize it. This time, Vanille was the one to get the Deprotect, but she threw on an Esuna and healed herself up. The Wyvern was quick, continued to throw in the Deprotects - making Vanille basically a full-time Medic, and leaving Sai and Sazh to throw on Ruins and spells to get the dragon's stagger back once more.

They managed to hold out until the second stagger, and by then the resulting damage from just  _making_  the stagger had done a good deal of the work. After that, Vanille was able to continue with her Ravager spells and build the gauge, allowing the attacks from Sazh and Sai to be fatal.

They continued through the rocky terrain, the scenery still as beautiful as ever, facing off with the usual suspects and growing numbers of Garchimaceras along with the Gremlins, able to cast level two spells such as Fira, but nothing too bad.

They were nearing Nautilus, however, the sun was setting in the sky.

"Something smells fishy - and I'm gonna find it," Sazh muttered.

They walked forward to find that two large rock-like creatures seemed to actually be monsters upon close investigation.

"Uh-oh," Sai muttered. "That's not good. Those are Woodwraiths."

"All right, I got it!" Sazh whispered. "We sneak."

"Right," Vanille nodded.

They carefully made their way over to the ramp up and out of the area, but they barely made it halfway before the blue Woodwraith suddenly noticed them and woke with a roar, the other green one waking as well.

"Just too much to ask to cut me one break, isn't it?!" Sazh shouted as they drew their weapons.

"Come and get it!" Vanille shouted.

The two monsters roared at the challenge.

The green Woodwraith, Enlil, threw out a Thunderburst at Vanille, hitting her with a blast of electricity that inflicted Deprotect. The blue Enki threw a Waterburst to Sazh, and they were forced to a defensive mode - Vanille casting Esunas while Sazh began casting his buffs, starting with Enwater as they were aiming for the Enlil first.

Vanille began throwing Deprotect, Deshell, and Poison - all water enhanced to do extra damage - while Sai began throwing Water spells - upgraded to Wateras thanks to the Enwater - as well as Aquastrikes. Both Vanille and Sazh went offensive to Ravager and Commando alike.

The two Woodwraiths hit hard with their regular attacks, and it wasn't long before Vanille had to switch back to healing, especially when the Woodwraiths began throwing their burst attacks - Thunderburst and Waterburst alike - and the Enlil used Bellow, bestowing it with Bravery, Faith, Enthunder, and Haste.

Vanille worked quickly with the Esunas while Sazh and Sai managed to raised the chain gauge to stagger. They hammered away with all they could, and managed to do significant damage while keeping it from using any attacks against them.

The stagger just barely ran out before it was dead, and the Enthundered attacks hit hard, forcing the group of l'Cie back to heal up. Vanille managed to heal a Deprotect from the Enki's Waterburst and heal the damage from all of the attacks, but the Enlil braced itself, the numerous eyes on the head glowing as it charged Raging Tempest.

"Brace yourselves!" Sai warned, throwing Shell on everyone as quickly as he could.

The Enlil exploded in a wave of electricity that shook the ground, throwing the three of them back. They managed to keep on their feet, but then Sazh was whacked by the Enki, who didn't give them any chance to recover.

Vanille quickly threw her healing spells. Luckily, Vanille's spells were powerful, if not the fastest. The two monsters began to converge on then, the Enthundered spells hitting hard, but Sai jumped up and stabbed the creature through the neck and it finally fell.

With a little more breathing room, Sazh switched their Enwater buffs to Enthunder and revitalized the others as well so they didn't wear off. Vanille went to work with a Waterburst Deprotect and healed them all up after the previous large attack and numerous Enlil and Enki duo attacks, while Sai began building a gauge once more.

The Enki used Bellow, the only difference this time being that it gained Enwater instead of Enthunder, while Vanille went to work with her debuffs on it and the boys built a fast chain with only one of the Woodwraiths to deal with.

The Enki began charging a Raging Torrent, and Vanille had just enough time to throw in a Cura before the area exploded in a wave of water and threw them back. The damage was a lot better than before, and Vanille was quick to get them back to full health and on the attack once more.

The monster still was hitting extremely hard, but they managed to stagger and Poison the monster before it unleashed another Raging Torrent. Vanille got Deprotect and Deshell on, and the Woodwraith didn't stand a chance.

They all sighed in relief and sheathed their weapons.

"That went…well," Sai muttered.

"A hop, skip and a jump, and we're in Nautilus," Sazh pointed out.

"The 'City of Dreams'…" Vanille muttered.

"If only we were dreaming up those clouds."

"Let's take shelter before we're rained on," Sai agreed.

They headed up the ramp and through another small corridor of rock before they came across an electric fence keeping the wildlife from the city. Sai drew his sword and cut them a way through, the blade enhanced to withstand spells and lightning - electricity - included. They were careful to step through without touching the metal themselves, but Sai made sure to use some electricity power to bend the metal back into position so monsters didn't get through after them.

"We can board the ship over there," Sai said. "I should get us free access with my I.D. I shouldn't be out of the system since soldiers are okay from the Purge thingy."

They began making their way over to the docks when about halfway the storm began coming down. The three exclaimed in surprise before hurrying over to a safe spot under some awnings.

"When it rains around here, it pours," Sazh commented. "And then it rains some more."

Vanille and Sai sat down on the benches, looking glum.

"Sazh…Sai…do you hate Pulse?" Vanille asked.

"Why wouldn't I?" Sazh answered. "Look at this mess it's gotten us all into!"

Vanille seemed to deflate at his words, and Sai winced, unable to think of how to respond.

Sazh sighed. "Of course, that's not to say I  _always_  hated it."

"What do you mean?" Sai asked.

Sazh sat down. "Seemed fishy. All that sanctum ranting about the 'threat from Pulse.' ' _Only a matter of time before they strike._ ' ' _Pulse is infested with monsters._ ' Scare after scare, and not even a shred of proof. Tired old cynics like me, we don't just swallow that tabloid crap. No, no. Not me. I figured the Sanctum was up to something crooked."

Sai let out a weak chuckle. "Yeah."

Sazh sighed. "At least until I got dragged in.

"Yeah…" Vanille muttered.

Sazh stood. "Now that I think about it, all this Purge business…it really only happened because Dajh found that Pulse fal'Cie."

"You're wrong," Vanille said quickly, causing him to turn in confusion. "Don't blame him…! It was all…"

She gripped her hands together tightly, trying to get out the words.

Sazh saw her distress and turned back to the rain. "Yeah, you're right. It was that scum from Pulse behind it."

Vanille quickly surged from her seat and out into the pouring water. Unbeknownst to Sazh, she clenched her hands into fists at her sides.

_I might as well have tried to stop the rain. I fought the tears_ _…but they still fell._

"You're getting soaked," Sazh called.

She turned, trying to keep perky. "I'll be fine! It's only water…"

She looked up to the falling rain and blinked away the tears that mixed in with the water from the sky.

* * *

"What if…what if it wasn't their fault?" Sai asked as they sat first-class on the boat to Nautilus.

"Huh?" Sazh asked.

"What if those Pulse guys didn't ask to come here? I mean, they're in the middle of enemy territory."

"Who knows why they're here? Could've just been trying to raise as much hell as possible. Seem to be doing a bang up job so far."

"But…how did they even get here, undetected for so long? Are we sure they even meant any harm? I mean, if the government hadn't taken action, would any of this ever happened? All those people in Bodhum, all these other people caught in the crossfire…all of those could've been prevented, right? Can't we just put all that stuff about the war behind us and be…I don't know…friends?"

Sazh sighed. "If only it were that easy."

Sai turned to them from the window and opened his mouth to say something, before hesitating and closing his mouth again.

He sighed. "You know Rei? She's…she's a fal'Cie."

Now, Sazh sat forward in interest. "A fal'Cie?"

"Yeah. You might not think so at first glance. Heck, I didn't believe it at first, but I found her in Bodhum a couple weeks back."

* * *

**_Day 1_ **

**_The Seaside City of Bodhum_ **

* * *

_Rei woke within the Vestige. How long had she been there? Had she been asleep? The last thing she remembered was…the war._

_Pulse was losing under the might of Cocoon's fal'Cie. Even as Ragnarok rose and attacked the floating shell, even she was eventually defeated._

_Rei had hoped to recover the fallen l'Cie that had become Ragnarok, bring her to safety for her valiant efforts in fighting. She took the burden of Ragnarok, and though she lost, she still deserved to make it out of this fight alive._

_She did as she had been told: she became Ragnarok and attacked Cocoon. Yet her Focus was only half complete, as she was defeated through no fault of her own, and so Rei granted her and her partner, both assigned with Ragnarok's burden, crystal stasis._

_Yet now she woke within Anima's vestige?_

_"_ **Anima, what has transpired? How did I end up here?** _"_

_"_ **The cursed Cocoon fal'Cie - Barthandelus - has brought the two of us to the enemy's land, along with the two l'Cie who were tasked with becoming Ragnarok. Their eyes had long since turned to crystal, yet now they wander off with a new Focus. It would seem a resident of this retched planet found their way to this vestige, and I have given her a Focus as well. Cocoon shall pay for what it did to us.** _"_

_Yet Rei had no interest in revenge. She was never a fal'Cie bent on war and destruction._

_And so she left Anima with the intent on finding a way back home, transforming into her usual diguise - a Pulsian huntress - before wandering into the forest._

_Yet when she came upon a silver wolf, one that she had never encountered before, she attempted to attack it with a magic blast. Such a simple task should've been nothing to her, yet as she held out her hand, her energy merely sparked, like a battery low on power, and her spell wouldn't form._

_"Stay back, creature!" She ordered, trying to think of what she could do._

_The beast, seeing no threat, launched itself at her. It tackled Rei to the ground, and the fal'Cie struggled under it. Though the monster was incapable of doing fatal damage, and Rei was much stronger than a regular human, it still overpowered her to the point where it was slashing and tearing at her ruthlessly._

_"_ **I fall to such a simple beast,** _" Rei thought to herself. "_ **How embarrassing. I must've been in that vestige for centuries if I am truly this weak.** _"_

_"Hey, wolfy!" A man called._

_The silver wolf turned in the direction of the shout, only to be blasted back and off of Rei. A young man walked up, holding an odd contraption that Rei was unfamiliar with. It was long, though clearly it wasn't a sword._

_With a loud crack, it sent a blast of small metal balls at the wolf at high speeds, causing it to roar in pain, bleeding out in numerous places._

_The man used his weapon once more, causing the wolf to be sent back from the force, lying dead upon the ground._

_"_ **As if my situation wasn't embarrassing enough,** _" Rei thought to herself. "_ **Me, saved by a mere man, and one of the enemy no less. His weapon is very mighty. What can I do if he turns it upon me? Come on, magic. You can't abandon me now.** _"_

_She focused her energy to her hand and scrambled to her feet as he turned towards her._

_"Stay back," She ordered, holding her hand out._

_"Whoa, hey, it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you."_

_"Am I supposed to believe such a thing from you, heathen? You creatures have wanted nothing but our demise for centuries."_

_"Okay, slow down. What the heck are you talking about, woman? Do you come from some kind of tribe in the forest or something that I'm unaware of?"_

_There was a rustle in the bushes behind her, and she jumped, turning instantly and letting her power spark forward. A bolt of lightning shot from her extended hand, destroying a tree and setting a bush on fire._

_"Whoa…lady, uh_ _…_ _how did you do that?"_

_"I_ _…_ _I am Hotareichan! Leave me in peace, human, and I might let you depart unmarred."_

_"Okay, Hota-whatever-you-just-said. Just take it easy, all right?"_

_Before he could finish, Rei felt her body collapse. She scolded herself and her weakened state. She cursed the fal'Cie, Barthandelus, for taking her to Anima's Vestige and forcing her into a dormant state for so long, reducing her down to this._

_"Hey, are you okay?"_

_The human was upon her, kneeling down to grab her shoulders._

_"Release…release me, human. Do…do not come near_ _…_ _"_

_But her protesting was in vain, as she had not the strength to continue, nor make any threats and demands._

_"You need medical attention. Look, my place isn't far. I'll take you there and help patch you up."_

_Rei wanted to protest that she wasn't going to be brought into his domain - it was bad enough that she was already in enemy territory, but to be brought into his prison would just be insult to injury._

_Yet she had not the energy to protest, as her vision went black._

* * *

_When she woke, it was to the sound of running water, though it was different, distorted, somehow. It certainly wasn't the sound of a river or the ocean, and yet she knew it was water._

_"Hey, you're awake."_

_Rei jumped at the voice, remembering the events before she had lost consciousness. Standing not far away from where she rested was the man who she'd met in the forest._

_"Where have you taken me, human?"_

_"Just my house in Bodhum. I live alone, so don't worry, no one else knows of your existence. You keep calling me human, and combined with that little stunt in the forest, along with your incredibly fast recovery rate, I'd assume you're not one?"_

_"I_ _…_ _no."_

_So he didn't know of what she was? Then she still had a chance to evade capture. She could play it off that she was from this land._

_"I am the fal'Cie Hotareichan. I_ _…_ _uh_ _…_ _thank you for your assistance."_

_"Fal'Cie? For real?"_

_"Yes."_

_"You look pretty human to me."_

_"A fal'Cie can take multiple forms, including that of a human's."_

_"Oh! I'm sorry."_

_He stood and then bowed abruptly._

_"My apologies for my disrespect of your personal boundaries and interfering in your affairs, however you looked to be having trouble."_

_She tried to hide her surprise. "_ **Well, that was easy. I guess the fal'Cie here are treated like royalty.** _"_

_"Well, I am fine now and really must be going."_

_She quickly moved to get up, but her head spun the moment she moved._

_"Whoa, careful. Forgive me for pressuring things, but you don't look like you're in good condition."_

_"I have been asleep for a very long time, and so my power seems to have gotten_ _…_ _rusty. I will recover with time."_

_"If you want, you can stay here until you do. I recommend at least a little more rest before you're strong enough to go walking around."_

_"But…I, uh…I have somewhere to be. I've been asleep for a long time and so I must go_ _…_ _go report my awakening."_

_"It can wait until you're strong enough to walk straight at the least."_

_She looked to him for trickery, but saw only genuine, human concern. His ocean-blue eyes seemed honest, an open book, hiding no lies beneath. Her fal'Cie instincts weren't alerting her, and so against her better judgment, she nodded and sat back down into the very fancy bed he had placed her upon._

_"Is there anything that could help you recover faster? Or maybe help you just keep entertained? I don't know a lot about fal'Cie, so just tell me what you need and I'll see if I can help."_

_"Uh, food would help me regain energy quicker."_

_"I didn't know fal'Cie ate food."_

_"Not as often as humans, and not as much. A good deal don't have to, but we are capable of eating."_

_"Okay. Anything you like in specific?"_

_"Meat in general. Herbs too."_

_"I'll see what I have in stock. Umm_ _…_ _here's The remote to the TV, if you want, and some books, maybe. Just take it easy and recover. I'll be here for anything you need."_

_"Thank you, um_ … _"_

_"Sai. Hui Ken Sai. And_ _…_ _What was your name again?"_

_"Hotareichan. But you may call me Rei."_

_"Nice to meet you."_

_"You as well."_

_And as he smiled before walking off, Rei felt something rare stirring within her. His kindness was unlike anything she expected of her enemy's kind. Even if he hadn't known she was the enemy, Cocoon was supposedly a 'floating nest of vipers,' as the other fal'Cie described them._

_Rei was never an offensive fal'Cie, and so she stayed out of the affairs of her kind as they plotted against Cocoon. Yet she still knew the basics, and so this was very unexpected._

_This Sai seemed to deeply respect his planet's fal'Cie, as well as just taking in a random stranger from the woods. This world was_ _…curious._

_But now to the matter at hand. How did this contraption in her hand work? And what was a 'TV?'_

* * *

"She's not a bad fal'Cie. She doesn't brand people. I'm not even sure she knows how to. Can all fal'Cie… _really_  be that bad? I mean…put in the wrong situation, or the right, maybe, could other fal'Cie be like her? Gain some…human traits?"

Sazh sighed and stuttered for words. "I…I-I guess it's possible. But y-you're  _sure_  she's-"

"I'm sure."

"B-But wait. Why would a Cocoon fal'Cie help us?"

"I-I told you. She's got human traits. She's learned to empathize with us, I suppose. She tells me all the war stuff is stupid, and I wasn't really into it either. We were gonna live in Bodhum in peace, get her away from all the fal'Cie stuff, before, well…"

He held up his arm with his brand.

"You know."

"How did she get branded though?"

"She's just got half of my brand. Doesn't matter where the brand is, I guess, but the brand is still mine. Anyway, that's my guess. I'm not the expert."

"Is she…you found her in the forest near the Vestige?" Vanille asked.

"Yeah."

He eyed Sazh and Vanille nodded in understanding. "So…maybe not  _everyone_  has to follow the standards of the rest of our kind?"

He nodded.

"Yeah, well, I'm not so sure we have a choice," Sazh said. "And she's one of…too many. What can we possibly do?"

With that cheery thought, they sat in silence and watched the rain pour down into the sea.


	14. Palumpolum Problems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Talk to your dad," Lightning suddenly said.
> 
> He looked down to her in confusion. "What? Why?"
> 
> "Fighting without hope is no way to live."
> 
> The elevator surged to life, beams of energy flying upwards to created the shaft. Rei stepped onto the platform, with Lightning behind close her.
> 
> "It's just a way to die."

Skytanks filled the air, releasing countless numbers of mechanical monsters and soldiers.

"Task Force reporting."

"Begin operations immediately."

"Sir!"

Lightning, Rei, and Hope hide behind one of the parked vehicals, spying the platoons of soldiers planted at posts.

"We can make it," Hope declared. "Get to the station, and board the train for Eden."

"You think it's still running?" Lightning asked.

"Well, if it isn't, we'll  _make_  it run."

"Then punch straight into the heart of the Sanctum?" Rei asked.

"Now you're thinking like a Pulse l'Cie," Lightning finished.

Rei shook her head and scoffed. These two really weren't very good for each other. Good thing she'd come to keep track of them, but man, this might be getting out of control.

"Well, this  _is_  Operation Nora. It's not just Snow I'm after. The Sanctum's gotta pay too."

Lightning looked to him and sighed.

Hope took her hand. "Hey,  _you're_  the one who said we had to fight. Every minute we waste, we're temping fate."

Rei sighed and rubbed her hand over her right forearm covered by her cuff. "Right."

"There's some underground tunnels not far from here. I used to play in them when I was a kid. No one uses the entrance anymore, so even the army doesn't know about it. But I know where it is. We can sneak in under their noses."

"Sounds good," Lightning agreed.

"Great! Here we go."

"Go!" Rei hissed.

They hurried from behind the cover of one car to the cover behind a crate. Just within sight were two Skytanks parked, a couple giant mechs, plenty of soldiers near their weaponized vehicals, as well as tons of buildings beyond that had their own varieties as well.

"Huh. No more rivalries now," Lightning muttered. "PSICOM's brought in the Guardian Corps."

"So, Hope, where to now?" Rei asked.

"Okay, there's an old drainage pipe," He reported. "We can use it to avoid being seen. The tunnel entrance is a little further up."

"Then let's move."

"Follow me!"

"Hey! I said 'Let's move,' not 'Let's charge in, guns blazing.' There are tons of troops between us and the pipe."

"Guess we're fighting, then. The way into the tunnels is over there."

Hope ran forward to fight the soldiers, chucking a few spells while the girls sighed and ran after him to attack, Blitzing the area while Hope threw some aggressive Thundara spells for quick staggers. A little launching and the soldiers were gone. Luckily, the small platoon of soldiers weren't hard to dispatch without drawing attention, but they made sure to move quickly and hurry into the drainage pipe.

"One bad step and we're goners," Rei reminded them. "The more troops we take out, the more attention we draw, Hope. Don't always think eliminating the enemy is the only way to move forward."

They came to the end of the rusting passageway and were forced out once more.

"There should be another drainage pipe," Hope reported.

"Come on, let's be quick about this."

They snuck past small groups of PSICOM Pacifexes, but there were tons more on the path ahead, and leaving troops alive to spot them from behind as well as in front left room for a lot of error and risk.

"There's not even time to catch your breath!" Hope muttered.

"Life of a fugitive," Lightning reminded him. "We told you it'd be fight after fight."

"I never said I was getting tired!" Hope snapped.

"We never implied that you were," Rei assured him. "Come on. There's another pipe we can use to sneak past these guys."

They bypassed the next couple groups of soldiers and hurried up a ramp to a set of stairs. They ran past a few rows of pipes before finally finding a large entrance through to what had to have been a sewer system of some sort.

Just a short way down the large corridor, they made it to an open, underground room, platforms and pathways floating above the water below.

"I think we made it past all the guards," Hope announced.

"What is this place?" Rei asked. "Some sort of city reservoir?"

"Close enough," Lightning said.

"It's a kind of sewer system," Hope said. "There should be a fal'Cie down here."

Lighting kept her eyes behind them on the path they'd just come from. It hadn't even been a very long distance from the surface to the sewer system, and it was amazing that there weren't any troops down there already.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine," Hope assured her. "Only kids like me know about that entrance."

"They'll find it," She promised him. "They'll call in a team, and canvass the whole tunnel system."

"Then we'd better hurry."

"So, where's this thing come out, anyway?" Rei asked.

He paused in his tracks as he thought. "Well it…it…I-I don't really know for sure."

"We'll find out today," Lightning answered, patting him on the shoulder and walking forward.

"Automated nutriculture…I think I remember learning about this in school."

"They teach you of this in basic  _school?_ " Rei asked in disbelief.

They headed onto some of the large hovering platforms to fly over the water and to the hovering pathways. They have to double back sometimes when they reached dead-ends, but overall, they so far seemed to be heading  _somewhere_.

Hope couldn't seem to get enough of this place. "So this is what it looks like down here." "Man, check this place out!"

They faced some regular routine bots called Flanitors - army-made flans - who had the ability to heal their injured allies - though oddly enough not their own selves. They were pretty quick and decent healers, but overall, they weren't a problem to out-damage once they were staggered.

The hardest thing they faced - no pun intended - were the Lucidons. They had powerful Photon Burst attacks that knocked the target off their feet and damage wasn't an easy thing to come by when they had such hard shells. Hope managed to get on Protect and Shell while Rei kept them healed up and Lightning built a stable stagger gauge. Once the preparations were complete, they threw all the spells they could and staggered it, removing the carapace and launching it up. After that, the beast was dead within just a few combos.

"Wow!" Hope exclaimed, running to the edge of the platform and looking to the large mechanical beaning hovering at the center of the room.

It was glowing with energy, seemingly at work doing something, with two faces spinning around, each with a gem on their foreheads.

"That's the city's food production fal'Cie," Hope explained. "Name's…Carbuncle."

"Like those toys?" Rei asked, and Hope nodded.

Rei twisted her head at an angle in confusion. Other than the gem on the forehead, the fal'Cie looked nothing like the plush toys that Sai had showed her when he had taken her shopping back in Bodhum. Humans were weird like that, she supposed.

"That's one of our enemies, being Sanctum and all," Hope continued.

"So…kill him, and cut off the food supply," Lightning summarized. "That'll make us popular."

Hope sighed. "I think people have enough reason to hate us, don't you?"

"Yeah, you're probably right. Hungry people make for angry people."

"Besides, he's not hostile," Rei said. "If he's alerted the soldiers of our presence, I've seen no evidence of an alarm being raised. And he doesn't seem to be attacking us or defending itself either. Leave the poor thing be."

"Why don't we use that as a landmark?" Hope suggested.

They headed forward, following the path and fighting a low number of enemies patrolling the area.

"Look at us," Hope muttered. "Pulse l'Cie, using a Sanctum fal'Cie to tell where we're going. Sort of strange."

"Not really," Lightning argued. "We've relied on them our whole lives. The food we eat, the light and water, it's all from the fal'Cie. You know, I think Cocoon was really built for them. The rest of us, we're just leeches. Parasites."

"You think?" Rei asked. "They protect you, nurture you. They take care of, well, normal people. All those things you rely on them for, they're still providing, right?"

"They treat us like we're special," Hope agreed. "Almost like…"

He paused in thought before clapping his hands together in realization.

"Like we're pets!"

Lightning looked past him to the fal'Cie in thought, her face seeming to show an epiphany at his words. "Like pets…"

She stepped forward, and Hope looked to her in confusion.

"To them, we  _are_  just pets," She realized, before clenching a fist. "That's  _it_. Now it makes  _sense_. I've…been so blind…I was born into a fal'Cie world, raised on a fal'Cie leash. It was the only life I knew how to live. When it was taken from me, I was completely lost. Without a master to follow, my life…had no purpose."

Her eyes widened and she turned to the boy beside her. "Hope, listen to me. This l'Cie curse, it took  _everything_  from me. My future, my dreams. I didn't want to  _think_. So I  _fought_  instead. As long as I was fighting, nothing else was real. I was running away."

She turned to the side and held her hand out in front of her.

"And you, Hope…"

She clenched her hand into a fist, as though trying to punish it for what it had done.

"You got swept along with me."

"But Lightning, I…don't understand," Hope said.

She turned to him. "Operation Nora is over."

Hope's face turned from confusion to shock and fear. "What?"

"I…"

His expression and voice turned to desperation. "No! You told me to fight!"

"I made a mistake!"

"But…you can't do this. You can't just…build something up like that…then  _abandon_  me."

"We're  _not_  abandoning you," Rei declared, putting her hands to his shoulders. "We  _won't._ "

* * *

_He kissed them hard, shoving them up against the door, needing desperately to feel them for no reason he could understand, nor one that he cared for. Shu melted against him, letting him press them against the hardness of the door behind them and feeling his warmth engulf them._

_Charon felt a certain hardness against his thigh and smiled. "I think I finally figured you out," He muttered._

_"Huh?"_

_"You're male."_

_"No I'm not!" Shu instantly protested._

_He pressed his thigh between Shu's, and the blonde couldn't suppress a moan from the delicious pressure. "I beg to differ."_

_"I…I'm not…"_

_"It's okay, Shu. I know already. I won't tell, I promise."_

_Shu sighed and shoved him off of them. "I am_ not _a guy."_

_"You'd rather be a girl? Not that there's anything wrong with that, just-"_

_"I'm not a girl, either! I am neither! I am both!"_

_"Namir, I don't…I didn't mean…"_

_Great, was he stuttering now? Was he actually concerned about offending Shu? Genuinely? Why did it scare him so much inside to think Shu hated him now? Why did his chest feel like something was eating away at him from the inside? Why wouldn't it stop? Why couldn't he shove it down?_

_Shu took a deep breath. "I'm not a gender. That's the end of that, okay?"_

_"But you have one whether you like it or not. What do you have against identifying as one or the other?"_

_Shu clenched his fists and growled. "You wanna know why?!"_

_They shoved him into the room and locked the door behind them. They then pulled off their armor and shirt to reveal bandages wrapped around their upper torso, completely covering it, and they weren't just there for show; they were covering a woman's chest._

_"See?!" They shouted._

_"You're…you really are both?"_

_"Yes! And I can show you the lower half if you need anymore proof!"_

_"No, no! That's not necessary!"_

_Shu huffed and turned in anger. "I brag about being agender, I act as though I chose to be this way, but I didn't! I was born a freak! Rei, she was lucky. You, you're lucky too. At least you two have a gender. I don't."_

_Charon paused, a feeling in his chest clenching like it only ever did for one other person. He slowly walked behind Shu and wrapped his arms around them._

_"I'm sorry for doubting you, trying to associate you with something you're not, trying to categorize you when you're free to be what you want."_

_"But that's the point! I can't! I'll always be too woman to be a man and too man to be a woman."_

_Charon rested his head on Shu's shoulder. "Well I like you the way you are. I wouldn't want to change you."_

_"You tried to, not five minutes ago."_

_"I just did that because…well, because I wanted to know something about you no one else did. I wanted to be trusted with a secret, something about you that I could always smile and say, 'Ha! I know this and you don't!' I wanted to have more trust from you than you give anyone else. I wanted to feel special to you, because…because it'd hurt if you didn't care for me more than anyone else. That you didn't think I was special to you. That would…that would hurt so much…"_

_And, to his own surprise, Charon meant what he said. He wished he could explain just how much Shu had changed him, just how much they'd affected him. At first, it had all started with Charon worrying if Shu had figured him out and would try to stop him, so he went to seducing them into being compliant, into trusting him. But along the way, Charon had felt actual emotions stirring within him, and somewhere in the middle, Shu no longer just became a job._

_Now, it would hurt so much if Shu ever found out about him, thought that Charon had never meant it, since at the beginning, he hadn't planned to. Now that he did, he didn't know what to do it and when Shu found out the truth and hated him for it. But Charon couldn't just give up his task, even if it meant hurting Shu, hurting himself. Because it would hurt even more if he failed what he'd been working for these past 600 years, after coming so far._

_He squeezed Shu tighter and buried his face in their shoulder. Might as well enjoy it while it lasted._

* * *

"I can't just throw in the towel." "How am I just supposed to forget about all this?"

Hope had been muttering to himself as they moved forward, and it wasn't long before he finally confronted the two women.

"So what do we do now? We're  _l'Cie!_  Ticking time bombs! Enemies of Cocoon! If we can't follow the plan, do we just lay down and  _die?!_ "

"I didn't mean we should give up," Lightning protested.

"Then what battles do we fight?! And against  _who?!_  Tell me that!"

"I don't  _know_  yet!"

"You don't  _know_  yet?!"

"That's right, we  _don't_  know yet," Rei interjected. "But I  _do_  know we can't lose hope."

Hope scoffed and moved to sit down on the nearby steps in defeat. "Hope? This  _is_  no hope. Not for l'Cie."

She sat down beside him. "Well, there's  _you._ "

"It's my name, not who I am."

She gave a small nod. "Well…that  _was_  obvious from the get-go."

"I was  _just_  like you," Lightning muttered, drawing their attention. "My parents died. I had to be strong for Serah, so I thought I needed to forget my past. And I became Lightning. I thought that by changing my name, I could change…who I was. I was just…a kid. Lightning. It flashes bright, then fades away. It can't protect. It only destroys."

She turned and sat opposite of Rei next to Hope.

"Serah  _tried_  to tell me, but I wouldn't listen."

She closed her eyes in thought, before letting out a small sigh. "I threatened her…"

She let out a heavy sigh.

"The only one who believed her…was Snow-"

"Don't say it!" Hope snapped. "Don't say his name…It brings everything back. I keep playing it in my head, what happened to her. And then I see his stupid face and…and he  _smiling_. How can he smile when she's dead?"

Rei reached out to touch his shoulder. "Hope-"

He surged to his feet. "I know! There's nothing I can do about it. I hate knowing that. No matter what happens, she's not coming back!"

He lifted his arm to looked to his brand, his voice shaking. "W-When I was fighting, there was no time to think about it. It felt good just to give in. But now you…you start talking about hope…"

Rei stood slowly and placed her hand over his brand. "You know, I understand. I…failed to protect a lot of people I care for. I left my best friend, I left Sai. I should've learned my lesson, I guess, but I let them down. Nothing hurts more than seeing people hurt, people lost, and knowing that you could've done something, and maybe things would've turned out differently. It's hard to keep going, I know. But we're here for you, you're not doing this alone."

Hope looked up to her. "I'm sorry. I'm messed up."

"No…" Lightning muttered, resting her hand on his arm as well. "It's my fault."

"This is no one's fault, and no one's messed up," Rei said. "We make mistakes, we lose our paths, but that doesn't mean we don't have the ability to make up for it, to fix what we've done. Let's make it out of the tunnel system, okay? We'll come up with something once we're out of the crossfire."

They headed forward and made it to an elevator that lead up and out. Where it led out to, who could really say? But Rei tapped the screen and tried to see if it was locked down or activated.

"It's likely the use of the elevator will alert the army of our location. If they don't already know we're down here and figured out where we'll come out already."

Hope wasn't listening very well. He merely sighed and looked down to the brand on his arm, before looking up the elevator shaft leading to the surface.

"Talk to your dad," Lightning suddenly said.

He looked down to her in confusion. "What? Why?"

"Fighting without hope is no way to live."

The elevator surged to life, beams of energy flying upwards to created the shaft. Rei stepped onto the platform, with Lightning behind close her.

"It's just a way to die."

Hope sighed and followed them forward, still hesitant about seeing his father.

"I want you to  _find_  the hope you were named for. Staying alive, I can help you with. But I can't…I  _can't_  give you hope. If you go to see your father…"

Hope put his hand over his brand and looked to the floor. "You think meeting my dad will…will make anything better? He's never listened to a word I've said. He's just…he'll never believe all this l'Cie stuff."

"No matter what he believes, facts are facts," Rei said. "You have to at least  _try_ , Hope."

The elevator flicked to life and the platform began ascending.

"Snow believed Serah, didn't he?" Hope asked.

Lightning flinched before looking away. "Yeah…"

* * *

As the elevator made it to the surface, four poles rose up to form a box of safety barriers around the occupants as they came up. The barriers faded, allowing the three of them to walk out.

"We're right at the heart of a plaza," Rei muttered. "Not a safe place."

"Let's hurry out of the open then," Lightning suggested as they moved forward.

The four poles retracted back into the ground, leaving no evidence of an elevator ever being behind them, but the announcement overhead drew their attention.

" _In a recently convened emergency conference, the Sanctum announced that the fugitive l'Cie have been located. The military plans to apprehend the l'Cie and carry out a public_  execution."

They could've been talking about Vanille's group, but then the next line confirmed it was them.

" _These images coming to you live from the scene in Palumpolum._ "

"That can't be good," Rei muttered.

"Up there," Lighting said, nodding to one of the large broadcasting screens on a building.

The footage shook around as the camera stabilized, but it showed the plaza where they were located, zooming in on the three of them. They looked around for the source of the camera footage, before noticing a Skytank coming down, along with countless Velocycles up in the sky. The tiny camera flew down, getting a good zoom in of each of their faces, and Lightning cursed under her breath.

Soldiers flooded the area, bringing along their fair share of mechanical monsters such as Orions and Velocycles as well. In an instant, there were soldiers along the ground and buildings all training their weapons on the small group.

"These are l'Cie," They heard a man order. "Show no mercy. They aren't people. They're targets."

Lighting scoffed, but the waves of soldiers and monsters continued to pour in around them. Hope backed up as the troops began to close in, and they ended up back to back to back in a triangle.

"We've got one chance for a surprise," Rei said. "Let's make it count."

"Start running," Lightning ordered to Hope. "We'll keep 'em busy."

Hope turned and backed away from them in surprise. "But…!"

"You survive," She ordered.

Hope hesitated in shock and uncertainty. Not long ago, Lightning had been fully willing to leave Hope behind to die. But now, she was basically giving her life for him to escape.

"We'll be fine," Rei promised. "Raising hell can't be that hard."

They, suddenly, on the balcony above them was a huge explosion. Out of the smoke ran Snow, punching down the dazed soldiers, kicking one and retrieving his gun in midair smoothly. Fang ran up behind him, looking around the plaza.

"That's some crowd," She muttered. "Gonna need a plan."

Snow chuckled and Fang looked to him in confusion. "Since when have heroes ever needed plans?"

Snow's left hand glowed with blue energy as he pumped his fist into the air, the resulting shockwave of energy enough to casually knock back the poor sod who was trying to get back up. Snow chucked his Eidolith crystal heart into the air above the plaza before using his commandeered weapon to shoot it open.

The crystal shattered and released small wisps of energy that quickly began to gather before a sphere of water began to form. It glowed and froze over before releasing countless streams of ice and crystal tentacles that expanded to attack the large army all at once. The two Eidolons burst free and flew up into the sky, ready for battle.

"Fang!" Snow called before he tossed her the gun.

He ran up and jumped off the edge of the balcony, only to be caught by the sisters as they transformed into their motorcycle form. Fang quickly caught on and jumped to land on Nix - who was the back wheel of the bike - on a nice resting place on her helmet.

"HELLO!" Shu called. "HERE I A-AM! MISS ME?!"

They waved their large sword into the air before hopping onto one of the ice ramps and sliding down to strike the nearest unfortunate souls that got in their way. Many who had recovered their wits attempted to fire on the fal'Cie, but Shu held up their large sword and blocked the attacks as they charged in and swiped them through. They kept their momentum going as plants began to grow through the cracks of the ground and surrounded the ice and they surfed them like they were water, keeping them moving fast and striking with deadly arcs.

"Move it, losers," Charon ordered as he gunned his Velocycle to plow through a platoon.

The guns activated and began firing on the groups that got in his way, but more often then not he just plain bull-charged through. He spun his cycle in a circle, releasing a tornado of black smoke that cause anyone caught in it to instantly fall, screaming.

Meanwhile Fang was holding down the trigger of her gun, not really used to the weapon but still familiar with the concept of point and shoot. Snow drove them up and down the ice ramps as they took out more and more soldiers that were desperately trying to get a grip on the situation and fire at  _someone_.

"It's him!" Hope shouted.

"Come on, Hope!" Rei shouted as they pulled him from the center of the plaza and out in the open.

Lighting fired her gun at some unsuspecting and distracted soldiers to break out of the circle that had been formed and broken around them. Rei charged her two swords together and surged forward, swinging them outwards to send out waves of energy around her and clearing a large space for Lightning to drag Hope through the lines.

Up above, Lieutenant Colonel Yaag Rosch, for all his big talk, was having a few problems. He was attempting to help in the efforts to shoot down the attackers, but Shu laughed off his attacks and sent his plants to attack the Skytank he was perched upon. They began piercing the metal with ease, and the ship lurched.

"Move! Take us up!"

He and Fang began a shoot off to see who could shoot the other first, the soldiers around the Colonel falling one by one and the camera catching it all. As it zoomed in on Rosch, he angrily shoved it into the line of fire instead, and it caught a quickly glimpse of Fang riding behind Snow on Shiva before Shu rode up the vines attacking the ship as it attempted to escape and jumped up and sliced it in half.

The thing exploded and they stumbled back as the vines finally snapped as the Skytank took off, and Shu was shoved off in their surprise of feeling their plants get hurt.

"Whoa!"

Charon instantly flew in, twisting the Velocycle to do a barrel roll so that Shu fell into his lap and he stabilized them once more. "Hey there, Flower."

"I love you," They stated before kissing him.

"Make it up to me later, hon. I'm driving."

Shu smiled and gripped him. "Okay!"

Lightning and Rei were slicing down the ground troops, as they'd gotten Hope clear, while Snow and Charon finished up the troops on the buildings and a good deal of the Orions. They looked up to see Rosch's Skytank escaping, but were quickly distracted when Snow rode Shiva up a ramp and jumped over them, a little too close for comfort.

"Ha, ha, ha, yeah!" Snow shouted.

"Watch where you're aiming that thing!" Rei shouted.

He brought the bike to a stop and smiled as Fang turned to dismount. "Lightning!"

Rei elbowed a final soldier that was getting up in the gut before Charon's Velocycle came to a halt in the plaza as well.

"REI!"

Shu hopped out of Charon's lap and surged forward. Rei had just enough time to look surprised before she was tackled by a blur of blonde and spun around a couple times in a tight embrace, her blades clanging to the ground.

"Shu…?" She choked out.

"You're alive! I found you! I found you!"

"Shu! Shu…I love you and I may be a fal'Cie, but I can appreciate oxygen!"

She was instantly dropped and nearly lost her footing. "Sorry!"

She caught her breath again before sighing and holding her arms out. "Come here, you big goofball."

They surged forward to hug her again, and this time she was prepared and was able to grip them back. "It's  _so_  good to see you. I thought…I don't know what I thought. I thought I'd never see you again."

"Reunion later!" Charon called. "We're still in the hot zone and the entire city's swarming with plenty of guys who want our heads on stakes. Extraction can't come out in the open like this. We need a place to wait it out at least until tonight."

Lightning looked at him impassively, and then grunted before turning to Hope and shoving the boy at Snow. Hope stumbled from the force, and Snow quickly moved to catch him while Fang took a step back in surprise.

"Take care of him," Lightning ordered, hefting her gunblade in gun form.

Hope shoved Snow away when he realized who had caught him, but Snow was too focused on catching Lightning before she left. "Lightning, listen to me!"

"Get moving!"

"No, no, you don't understand! Serah's all right! She'll turn back!"

Lightning hesitated before scoffing. "Take care of Hope."

"Wait!"

But Lightning was already running forward and gone.

Fang smiled and tapped him on the shoulder. "And then there were six," She chuckled. "Shu?"

She ran after Lightning, and Shu jumped. "Hey! Wait for me!"

"Wait, Shu!" Rei called before hurrying after.

Charon gunned his engine to follow them, but then noticed that the soldiers that were left alive were picking themselves up and arming to attack Snow and Hope, who were more focused on their retreating friends rather than the immediate danger.

"They're here!" "Hold it!"

"Dammit," He muttered, before flying his cycle over to charge into the nearest group who had their weapons ready.

"Gotta go!" Snow announced before picking Hope up and tossing him onto Shiva.

He jumped on in front of the boy and casually pumped a fist. "So, how've you been?"

Without waiting for an answer - and Hope not really having one - Snow gunned the engine. "Hang on!"

Hope had no choice but to grab onto Snow as the bike surged forward, knocking back a platoon of the soldiers as well as one of the Orions. Charon followed suit and Blitzed his vehicle around with Snow to take down the panicking soldiers.

"Fire! Fire!"

Snow was skillful with his Eidolon, however Hope wasn't so graceful. As Snow surged forward, Hope wasn't holding on tight enough and ended up being thrown off.

"One's down!" "Get on the ground!"

A troop of soldiers who seemed to be very excited that the l'Cie had simply fallen on his arse trained their guns on him, but Charon bulldozed into them just as Hope was getting up and into a defensive stance.

"Take cover, kid!" He ordered.

"I got this one!" Snow called.

He charged his motorcycle in, leaving an icy trail of spikes as he attacked. He plowed through the soldiers, even forcing the Orion back as he flew in. He spun his cycle in a circle, releasing waves of ice to smack everyone within range and leave a couple of them pierced from the spikes with a Spinfreeze. He drove back in a slide with an Icicle Drift, and the soldiers dropped like flies, and only their numbers were posing any sort of threat.

As Snow drifted past and out of range, Charon fired his Gatling Gun, prompting a wave of screaming from the falling troops.

"Snow, you ready yet?!"

He chuckled and revved the engine. "Cool 'em off!"

He drove in and began to circle the troops before turning in and then spinning the bike in a cyclone of ice and snow. Large pillars of ice formed, circling the area like trees, before it all exploded, sending the troops flying up into the air and finishing them all off.

Snow landed on the ground, the two Shiva sisters splitting and landing beside him. "Way to go."

Stiria waved and Nix blew a kiss before the two of them jumped away and vanished from whence they came. Snow smirked and watched them go before turning just in time to see the Orion, damaged but still alive, charging in and slashing at him with its electric arm attack. Snow was tossed back across the ground, but Charon took the opportunity to gun his engine and charge straight at the mechanical monster.

At the last second, he dived out and rolled to his feet, the cycle smashing into the Orion and knocking it back into some of the remaining ice blanketing the area before the remains exploded and metal shrapnel went flying.

Charon sighed. "There goes my ride…" He muttered.


	15. It's Called Interference

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Snow, listen to me. It's about Hope. His mother was-"
> 
> "Lightning, it's me," Hope interrupted. "I decided…I have to…Operation…"
> 
> Static began taking over the com.
> 
> "Hope? Hope! Answer me!"
> 
> "I'm sorry."
> 
> "Hope!"

"What's up?" Snow asked casually.

"Where have you  _been?_ " Hope demanded.

Snow chuckled. "I got taken in."

"Wait…what?"

"Not by enemies," Charon said. "It was the Cavalry, not PSICOM. Leader's name is Raines. We're lending you l'Cie a hand."

"So  _now_ …you're  _hero_  is back!" Snow declared, pumping a fist.

"Why would the army help us?" Hope asked, on edge. "That doesn't make sense."

"Hey, the military's got all kinds," Charon shrugged. "Not all of 'em  _like_  the Sanctum."

Snow put a hand on Hope's shoulder, seemingly missing the glare the boy was giving him. "Don't worry. I'll handle the bad guys. Come on."

"Yeah," Charon muttered. "I trust Shu more than I trust  _you_."

Hope had no choice but to follow the two up the ice ramps surrounding the plaza. "Ice tracks? Is that some kinda l'Cie power?"

"Sort of," Charon said. "It's just a little Eidolon magic. Heads up, boys, we got more of 'em alive."

He drew a couple of daggers and charged in to sliced down a Corps Tranquifex. Hope threw some Thunder spells, quickly staggering the weak soldiers. After fighting monsters in the Gapra Whitewood, along with being majorly ticked off at Snow's presence, he was tougher and raring for a fight. Snow seemed oblivious to the boy's anger, focusing more on the fighting and moving forward.

Snow sometimes called off compliments to Hope when he made a kill - which shouldn't really be a good thing, but under circumstances, well, yeah - but his condescending attitude seemed to only be making things worse. Not that there was anything making things better. Everything was causing Hope to either get angrier at Snow or  _much_  angrier at Snow.

They headed up the ice ramps to a higher level of the buildings, before making up and out into the open once more.

"Why did I have to get stuck with him?" Hope muttered.

Charon patted the teen on the shoulder. "He's eccentric, I get it kid, but don't blow your top over it."

Hope shrugged off Charon's hand harshly. "Don't pretend like you understand me."

"Whoa, bud, keep calm. What's up with you two, anyway? You've been glaring daggers ever since pinky went running off with the posse."

Up ahead, Snow was Blitzing through a wave of soldiers. He was doing all right on his own, doing his whole punching an kicking, before he was knocked back by a PSICOM Warlord's Manadrive triple attack. He'd taken care of the surrounding Pacifexes, and grunted as he rose.

"Don't worry!" He called. "I got this one!"

He charged back in for the attack, and Charon shrugged, taking the opportunity to talk with Hope. "Seriously, kid, what's wrong? You can tell me."

"And who exactly are you supposed to be, anyway? Snow just says he gets captured by the army and he suddenly shows up with a bunch of strangers we're supposed to trust?"

He sighed. "Look, Hope. You're Hope, right? I'm Charon. You can trust us or not, but we're here to help. The Sanctum aren't the nicest guys in the world, and I don't like 'em.  _We_  gain nothing from helping them, and everything from helping you get  _rid_  of them. At the very least, we're sympathetic to your cause. You can hate me, you can keep your mouth shut about things. But know that I'm an honorable person, and I'll respect your feelings."

Hope watched Snow taking hits and charging into the battle recklessly once more, before sighing. "My mom…she was killed…because of him. Because of his recklessness, his stupid cocky attitude…and there he is, just  _smiling_. Acting like…like I'm his  _friend_ , like…like nothing even happened. Like her death meant  _nothing_  to him!"

"Hey, hey, slow down, Hope. Now, are you sure-?"

"I saw it with my own eyes! I…I just…how can he  _smile_ …when she's dead? How can he…act like that? How can he just brush it all off like it's nothing?"

"Yeah, well, he's got a thick head, all right. I'll give you that. But…I mean, the guy knows when things go too far. I mean, he's a douche, but he's not a  _complete_  douche."

"How can you be defending him?"

Charon shrugged. "Perhaps I have a soft side for dorks who are hurting on the inside. Snow's a bit messed up, but it's just because he's insecure."

"That's what I'm talking about!"

They looked over and saw the PSICOM Warlord fall, Snow pumping his fists triumphantly.

"Hey, uh…" He muttered, breathing heavily and covered in cuts and burns. "Mind giving me a heal?"

Charon rolled his eyes and waved his hand. He wasn't very good at healing magic, but it was clear Hope wasn't very eager to do the healing. He managed to fix the guy up, and Snow cheerfully headed up the next ramp of ice.

"This is just a part of Operation Nora," Hope muttered.

"Nora?"

"My mother's name."

They followed Snow, Charon worried about that look in Hope's eyes that said 'Operation Nora' didn't have a happy ending. They took their aggression out on some Corp Tranquifexes, and the occasional PSICOM Bombardier, making their way to a building that had a way inside and down to a back alley.

"I'm just waiting for the right moment," Hope mumbled to himself. "As long as I have a goal, I can fight."

"Hey, I think we're almost there!" Snow called.

"Uh, where?!" Charon called, as Hope was practically a bomb waiting to go off at this point.

"We should be able to take cover down here somewhere."

They headed down and through a busted and frozen over wall that seemed to be at the edges of Shiva's carnage, seemingly having previously planned the route that they would need to take to escape. Either Snow came up with the plan in advance, or he left it to the sisters to come up with the plan and is just following the trail they left and claiming the glory.

Charon was voting for the latter, but you never know.

Reaching the end of Shiva's ice, Snow rushed ahead (well, further ahead) and looked through a pair of gates to down below cautiously. A level below, there were on patrol and heading off to their posts in the search.

Snow looked to Hope's angry face, seemingly unaware of the magnitude of the situation. "You've changed, haven't you? Seems like you've toughened up."

"I'm a l'Cie. I  _had_  to."

He chuckled humorlessly. "The only ones that ought to be fighting the army are us dumb grown-ups."

Hope's face darkened ever further. "You think it's stupid to fight?"

"It is if you get killed."

Hope looked shocked, Snow still unaware of the insulting blow he did to Nora - or possibly aware, but brushing it off. He was so angered that he couldn't even find words, while Snow wasn't looking to him at the most convenient - or inconvenient - time.

"Ouch," Charon muttered quietly.

"Anyway, just lay low," Snow continued, finally looking to Hope and  _still_  not getting the message. "Let the dummies duke it out. The army's no match for NORA, right?"

"Nora?" Charon asked. Wow, now that was irony if he'd ever seen it.

If Hope glared any harder, he was probably going to be able to get his revenge with just a look. Seriously, the kid was stabbing the guy to death with his eyes.

Somehow, Snow sauntered past and didn't even notice he was being murdered with a gaze. He headed down the corridor leading further down in the alley tunnels.

Hope, meanwhile turned after him, raging, his hand behind him holding a switchblade tightly. "He was…he was  _smiling!_ "

"Hey, cool your roll, kid," Charon advised. "He's an idiot. If you're so upset, how about telling him why instead of shanking him?"

"You wouldn't understand."

Hope stomped after Snow, his rage quickly burning out into just sulking as they followed after Snow. At the sound of a beeping, Snow stopped and pulled out his phone - which was basically just two cylindrical metal pieces connected at one joint so they flipped open like a real phone. The buttons and screen popped out as holographic touch screens, and the green light at the end blinked as it beeped.

Snow flipped open the communicator. "It's me, what's up?"

" _You damn well know what's up!_ " Fang blared through the phone, forcing Snow to pull the speaker away from his ear. " _Why haven't you called in?!_ "

"Sorry, slipped my mind," Snow said casually.

" _And Charon?_ "

"Him too."

" _Yeah, right. More likely you distracted him or told him it was fine not to call._ "

"Hey, offensive."

She sighed. " _Right…what's your status?!_ "

"Great, great! Hope's great too! And Charon's rollin' along fine. Are you all right?"

" _I'm great, you're great, everybody's great._ "

Her voice got further as the phone was moved away.

" _Reunion time. Figure out a rendezvous point._ "

There was a bit of shuffling as the phone was passed and Lightning could be heard just slightly as she took it with hesitation.

" _Don't sweat it. That line's hyper-encrypted._ "

Lightning seemed to struggle for what to say, so Snow intervened. "Hey, Sis. Is that you?"

" _I'm_ not _your sister,_ " She snapped automatically.

" _ **Chare?**_ " Shu asked in his head.

" ** _Yeah, I'm here._** "

" ** _Hey, cool. We'll meet up later, maybe Hope's. He's got a house here, right? You've gotta meet Rei. I told you all about her. She's awesome. Oh, and she says she's got stuff to ask you about. I don't know what, but she's smiling evilly about it. Do you know her already?_** "

He sighed. " ** _I think that's just the regular interrogation technique of protective sisters. Trust me, she does it out of love._** "

" ** _Uh, okay. I'm still worried about you, though._** "

" ** _I'll be fine. Unless I tick her off or hurt you. That might be a bad thing._** "

" ** _Aw, but you'd never hurt me._** "

" ** _That's for me to convince her of and her to be suspicious of._** "

" ** _Well, okay. We'll see you soon._** "

* * *

"We'll meet at Hope's place," Lightning said. "Felix Heights 35-A."

" _Right. See ya there. Tell Fang and Shu 'hey.'_ "

She pointed to the com to signal he'd said 'Hi' and they nodded back in response.

"Take care of Hope."

" _All over it. And I'll tell you more about Serah when we meet up. I found out she_ can _turn back. There's still hope."_

"Snow, listen to me. It's about Hope. His mother was-"

" _Lightning, it's me,_ " Hope interrupted. " _I decided…I have to…Operation…_ "

Static began taking over the com.

"Hope? Hope! Answer me!"

" _I'm sorry._ "

"Hope!"

"Yelling doesn't fix it," Fang said, holding her hand out. "It's called interference."

Lightning scoffed in anger, dropping the phone from her ear and passing it over to Fang again.

"You can chitchat when we get there. I've got point, you all fall in behind. And see if you can't cool off that head of yours."

Lightning sighed. "Hope…"

"We'll catch up to them," Rei assured her.

"And Charon's with them!" Shu added cheerfully. "They'll be fine!"

Rei smiled and patted them on the shoulder. "Let's still make haste, shall we?"

"Heads up," Fang called from ahead. "We got some boys up ahead."

"This will be a joint operation, conducted in unison with members of the Guardian Corp. PSICOM will retain authority for the duration."

"The army's getting desperate," Lightning commented.

"We're about to have a lot of company," Rei concluded.

"Not for long!" Shu declared, hefting their large sword.

They ran out from the alley they were taking shelter in and got all of the soldiers' attention as they swung to strike down the first unsuspecting wave in front of them.

"What happened?" "They're here? The l'Cie?!"

Fang chuckled. "Keep up, ladies!"

The two women drew their weapons and charged in after. They divided and conquered, striking down the soldiers and moving wide to Blitz and strike them down. There weren't many soldiers to really get past, and none of them worth any trouble, but there was always the concern of there being more just around the corner.

Fang moved like a soldier, though not as experienced as Lightning. It was closer to a survival instinct, knowing she needed to be cautious of everything around her, knowing what it was like to be a fugitive and surrounded by enemies looking for her.

She looked around a corner, but it seemed clear at the moment. Lightning joined her soon after, Shu next and Rei taking the rear before they all backed to the wall in cover.

Lightning, standing beside Fang and seeing that there were no threats, noticed the brand on Fang's upper arm and how it was Pulsian, but seemingly glazed over and frozen. "Who are you?"

Fang looked to her brand before sighing and scratching the back of her head. "Uh…where to I start?"

She rubbed her arm and decided it was the best place to start.

"I've got a few screws loose, but I'm a l'Cie, same as you."

"Hm?" Lightning hummed.

"Difference being…I wasn't born on Cocoon."

Lightning stepped forward in surprise. "Wha…?"

"I'm from Gran Pulse. The 'world below' you all hate so much. Those two are as well, but they didn't come with me. My partner and I'd turned to crystal there and gone to sleep. But when we came around, here we were. The reason Cocoon's in such an uproar, the reason these two are alive and up here, is the same reason you're here now. Vanille and I…woke up."

Ships flew past above them, scouting the city.

"We should get moving," Rei said. "Charon's group is a small ways ahead of us."

* * *

"Evacuation Protocol!" A soldier shouted. "You will be moved to a secure location!"

Charon took front and waited until the Velocycles had passed before waving the other two to follow him out of the alley. They took cover behind some crates and miscellaneous junk piled up, moving closer to see a line of civilians being evacuated, surrounded by some soldiers escorting them.

"The Sanctum follows fal'Cie orders," Snow muttered. "It's not just after l'Cie. They'll target civilians, and Purge everyone who's a threat."

"And more innocents get killed," Hope summarized.

Snow hesitated and sighed. "You can't take the blame for that."

" _Someone_  has to."

"We can still save 'em," Charon said. "We let loose, and bring the army to us. Our notoriety can be manipulated and put to use."

Hope looked over to the moving crowd of people. "Draw their fire," He realized.

"I'm supposed to protect you," Snow said to Hope. "But I can't let this happen. It's a tough call, that's for sure. Only one choice, I guess. I try to save everyone."

He pumped his fist and gave a chuckle, while Charon rolled his eyes and Hope looked down. When he rose his angered face once more, Snow had already turned back to looking forward.

"So, Hope…are you with me on this? You just need to look out for yourself."

"I admire your optimism, kid, but we've still gotta be careful about this," Charon advised. "If you want everything, you'll end up with nothing. We need to play our cards right and cut our losses."

"Hey, this is happening because of us. We at least owe it to these people to try and help."

"How we can help is staying out of their way and not turning them into 'tainted' civilians and the next Purge deportees. The best thing we can do for these people is stay hidden and stay out of their way. Even if we pass by a crowd, do  _not_  let them know you're l'Cie."

The line of soldiers moved on, leaving the way seemingly open.

"Here goes nothing!" Snow muttered.

" _Citizens, a state of emergency has been declared,_ " An announcement blared. " _Sanctum military operations will be commencing within this area momentarily. For your own safety, a mandatory city-wide evacuation has been ordered. Please remain calm and proceed as directed by security force personnel. Should you witness any suspicious activity, please alert the nearest uniformed soldier. Thank you in advance for your cooperation and swift compliance._ "

They snuck past some Corp Pacifexes and Tranquifexes, Charon swinging his Zanmato and releasing swift waves of power that instantly knocked out any soldiers that were being thorough and were unavoidable.

"That thing's useful," Snow commented.

"And risky. I aim it wrong and I can kill everyone within sight. It takes skill to control this thing, and if I don't take care, I might even kill you two and any of my allies. Zanmato can take out any enemy, however it's risky and pretty hard to activate the more you use it. I have a Wakizashi and some Kozuka for when I don't need the Zanmato, but I find it's a quick and effective way to keep the soldiers out of the picture. No need to draw any attention with a long and noisy fight."

"Sorry, a what and a what?"

Charon drew a smaller and simpler silver-bladed sword that had been hidden next to his Zanmato in a black sheath. The Zanmato's colors took away attention from the second sword, and so though it could easily be seen, the Zanmato was more obvious.

"This is a Wakizashi. Simple combat sword."

He sheathed the sword and pulled out some of the knives he had on his belt, hidden mostly by his jacket.

"These are Kozuka, combat knives built for stabbing and throwing, long and short range. Not to mention I also use them for this."

He stabbed one into the ground before throwing another up to the second story of a building. He disappeared, leaving behind a black silhouette of himself before that faded away like dust and he reappeared with another silhouette appearing before solidifying into him again. It all happened in an instant, but he appeared where he had thrown his weapon, his hand on the hilt, and then with a flick of his wrist, he disappeared once more and reappeared where he'd left the blade stabbed into the ground, his hand once again on the hilt.

"Warp-Striking. Useful for moving quickly to places within throwing distance. Not for the inexperienced. It can make you sick and dizzy if you're not used to it, and passengers are a risk that I'm not willing to take. Let's just keep moving before we're spotted. We're gonna have to pass some civs if we wanna get by, so let's hurry."

They made their way through groups of people that had been moved to the closed off area.

"Wonder if I could sneak out without getting caught…" "The soldiers all left. Guess everything's okay?"

"All these people want to kill us, don't they?" Hope asked.

"All these people don't know who you are, for now," Charon said. "Let's keep it that way for as long as we can."

" _I repeat…_ " The announcer began once more as they moved forward. " _Citizens, a state of emergency has been declared. Sanctum military operations will be commencing within this area momentarily. For your own safety, a mandatory city-wide evacuation has been ordered. Please remain calm and proceed as directed by security force personnel. Please remain calm and proceed as directed by security force personnel. Should you witness any suspicious activity, please alert the nearest uniformed soldier. Thank you in advance for your cooperation and swift compliance._ "

Charon groaned and put his hands to his ears. "Just shut  _up_  already!"

They crossed a bridge and headed down some steps to find a large gathering of civilians, guarded by a few soldiers. There'd be little chance of the three of them escaping through without someone taking notice, and with so many people in once place, there were bound to be casualties.

"Not good," Snow muttered.

"How do you wanna handle this?" Charon asked.

Snow shook his head and shrugged. "No other choice."

He ran down the steps to join the group, Charon following with Hope dragging behind reluctantly. At first, no one took notice of them, just a soldier bringing in a dad and his son maybe, but a soldier did notice the odd group.

"Is there a problem, soldier?"

"Uh…" Charon muttered, looking to Snow.

Snow, marched up to the soldier with a determined look.

"Now why don't you just calm dow-"

But the soldier's final syllable was cut off as he was sent flying by a punch from Snow. Everyone around them backed up with a few shouts. Hope blended into the crowd easily, as he had been holding back and was looking to Snow in his own surprise, wondering what exactly the plan was.

Charon walked over to the fallen soldier, the civilians scampering back and a mother kneeling and hugging her daughter protectively. Snow looked to the side with a pained look as he saw the two of them, before Charon grabbed the fallen soldier's gun and cocked it, tossing it over to Snow.

He sighed and took on a stoic demeanor before raising the weapon above him and firing up into the balcony above. "I am a Pulse l'Cie! I'm here to kill you all!"

The citizens scattered in panic, some staying in caution, but most being smart and leaving the area clear. Eventually, even the brave ones got it into their head that it was best to back off.

Hope ran up to them. "What are you doing?!" He demanded.

Snow tossed the weapon away, emptied of any rounds. "Clearing the area."

Lines of bullets started raining down from above, making their way closer to the group, Snow and Charon pulled Hope closer to the building and under the protection of the balcony, seeing some soldiers coming in with basically the jet-pack versions of the Velocycles, with one wheel strapped on a contraption they were wearing and allowing them hands-free flight and guns trained.

"They'll open fire on a crowd," Snow explained. "Doesn't matter who dies. Just wipe 'em all out!"

"There's so many of them," Hope noticed as a wave of five came in. "Are they really that afraid of us?"

"They fal'Cie have spread tons of lies over the years, and now that people are seeing the threat before them, they're going to believe it all."

Charon grabbed a couple of his Kozuka. "Time to party. The area's clear, so we should be safe from collateral damage."

He threw his weapon up into the air, appearing in front of one of the PSICOM Aerial Snipers. He slashed quickly and rapidly in the time he had in the air, before falling down from gravity and tossing his blade to the side where he came to a stop easily. Three of the Aerial Snipers were coming in, training their guns on the three of them. Their bullets hit hard, and Hope had to work hard to keep everyone healed up.

Even as one of the Aerial Snipers was staggered, it used MLRS Volley, where it's jet-pack sent out a wave of missiles that pushed Snow back and forced him to flinch. Even as he ran up to try and take advantage of the stagger, another wave pushed him back. Charon threw one of his Kozuka into the jet-packs and it blew up, sending the soldier down in a wave of smoke and fire before he hit the ground and exploded himself.

"All right!" Snow shouted. "Take out those…things!"

"Glossair rings," Charon corrected.

Hope threw his spells to another Aerial Sniper, and luckily, they weren't too hard to stagger. Snow let out his punches, and Charon used his Wakizashi sword to hack and slash, using his Kozuka to take out the guys who flew too far up and out of punching range.

"Let's see what you've got!" Snow taunted.

It wasn't long before the final wave of the enemies had been defeated.

"Let's hurry," Charon warned. "More will be on the way."

They made their way out of the open plaza and down another alley, where Snow found an abandoned jet-pack with the glossair ring still intact.

"Think we can use this?"

"It's not meant for three, but I can make do on my own," Charon said. "You just focus on taking Hope, and I'll follow behind."

Snow went to work salvaging the machine, while Hope, meanwhile, found that girl that had been with her mother in the plaza before the whole 'I'm here to kill you all' incident. She had a stuffed Carbuncle doll with her, but when she saw Hope, she cowered back.

"Hey," Hope called gently, but she was squeaking in terror from him. "You okay?"

He stepped forward to help, but she threw her Carbuncle stuffed animal at him and though it didn't hurt, it did force him back.

"Leave her alone!" "L'Cie scum!" "Save the girl!" "Call the army!"

They looked over to see a mob of civilians inching their way forward with random rods of metal and attempts at weapons.

"Don't you  _touch_  her!" A woman spat, who Charon recognized as the mother of the child who had been holding her protectively before.

"We can take 'em!" "Protect Cocoon!"

Charon sighed. "Great. Keep at it with the thing," He told Snow.

He walked over and grabbed the girl by the wrist, dragging her over despite her protests and the gasping of the mob, before he tossed her towards her mother. There were numerous gasps of surprise, confusion, and fear, but the girl collapsed into her mother's arms, terrified.

"Mommy!"

"It's okay. You're okay now."

"Stay back!" Charon ordered. "You've got the girl, now leave for your own safety!"

"He's scared!" "This is  _our_  town!" "Get out of here!" "They don't stand a chance!"

The mob was barely inching forward, and Charon rolled his eyes. "Mobs these days."

"You  _better_  run, l'Cie scum!" "No mercy!" "We can take 'em!" "Kill the l'Cie!"

Charon took a battle stance and put his hand to his Zanmato, a wave of energy pulsing out and his blade and sheath glowing brightly. Instantly, the already reluctant crowd backed up with shouts of panic, some falling off their feet from trying to back up so quickly.

"Careful now!" "I'm not afraid of you!"

Charon looked around quickly, not wanting to bust out his fatal move on a bunch of innocents who didn't know any better. He saw an arch being held up by some targetable beams above, and decided that was better than nothing.

He removed his hand from his blade and held it out an orb of black energy building in his hand and letting off wisps of darkness. He threw his hand out, releasing half of the gathered energy to one side of the arch and the other half to the opposing one. The civilians screamed in panic at what was happening, before the dark wisps of energy clung to the metal and instantly began eating away at it, shaking the ground at the heavy object being released from its structural bindings.

Moments later, the metal arch came down, missing the people who had backed up just enough in their fear. They screamed in terror, and suddenly any confidence they had was wiped away.

"That was magic!" "We don't stand a chance! We can't fight that!"

Hope walked over to the discarded Carbuncle that had been thrown at him, picking it up gently. He walked over and set it on the fallen arch between them and the mob. "I'm sorry," He said.

Another wave of soldiers started marching their way from behind the mob, drawn by the noise of the commotion.

"Time to go!" Charon announced. "Snow, got that thing ready?!"

"Stop them!" "Empty those clips!" "Fire!"

Charon drew his Wakizashi and held it in a defensive position, putting up a barrier as the troops ran through the crowd of people and began to open fire. Snow flicked on the glossair ring of the jet-pack, but had no time to put it on (nor did Charon think he could fit the thing on him anyway) so he gunned it and merely held on, guiding it so that he grabbed onto Hope and they began ascending.

Charon dropped his barrier and began running up the side of the building, sheathing his weapon and sprinting to catch up. Snow began flying slightly lopsided, ending up too close to one side of the alley walls, and pushed his feet to launch them to the other side where Charon was, Hope shouting in panic the entire way. Unfortunately, he pushed too hard and despite his attempts at steering, ended up grinding the glossair ring against the side of the walls and doing serious damage to it.

He managed to push away once more, Hope screaming and avoiding the sparks, and Charon jumped to grab on as the walls came to an end. He guided the damaged ride as best he could, but they ended up coming to the top of a building and having to make a rough landing.

Charon let them go first, hovering to a safe speed and dropping to run over and meet them. Hope went flying a small distance when Snow released him, and then let go of the jet-pack at the last second to roll to his feet in a somewhat graceful landing. The glossair ring was still running, though in no condition to be taken for another ride, so Snow walked over to Hope, who was on his hands and knees catching his breath.

He kneeled down and put his hand to the boy's shoulder. "We've gotta stay ahead of 'em."

"We walk from here," Charon agreed. "We need to get out of the open. They're no doubt closing in."

Hope nodded and pulled himself to his feet as they walked over the rooftops of Palumpolum.


	16. To Rendezvous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "There are no answers! You're running from what you deserve!"
> 
> "Well, why don't you tell me what I deserve?!"
> 
> "The same fate!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year! Yippee! Whooo! *Fireworks!* *Party stuff!* *Etc!*
> 
> Chapter update!
> 
> I tried to skip most of the battling, so sorry if you like that kind of thing, but it helps move the story along faster. Like I said, I am speeding through Palumpolum to get the band back together faster

As they walked across the Rivera Towers, Hope had to sit down from exhaustion.

Snow saw and pointed over the buildings. "Felix Heights is that way, right?"

Hope kept his head down and didn't respond.

Snow dropped his hands to his hips. "Still  _pretty_  far."

He looked over to one of the hovering advertisement signs.

"'A great place for family living'? So they say."

He looked over, but Hope still didn't respond.

"Looks like it actually might be, huh?"

"Yeah, well…l'Cie don't have family."

"Listen to me, kid."

He walked over and kneeled in front of Hope.

"I'm an orphan - I barely got to know my family. But someday, I'm gonna have my own. Once I save Serah, and protect Cocoon."

Hope looked up skeptically. "How exactly?"

He let out a small chuckle. "That's a good question. I wanna do what's right, but everyone hates l'Cie. Kinda hard to help someone that's trying to kill you."

"Just because someone doesn't like being saved doesn't mean you shouldn't try saving 'em," Charon pointed out. "They have no idea what's really going on out there. Even if you can't do anything else, at least you can say you  _tried_  to make a difference."

"It'll be tough. But everything will work out in the end. As long as we stay together and hold on to hope-"

Hope stood abruptly. "We don't have any!"

Some troops began closing in, Aerial Snipers taking the rooftops and a Falco Velocycle shooting down the sign that Snow had read previously.

"A l'Cie's only hope is a quick death!"

"All right, hash this out later," Charon announced. "Get moving, go!"

"'Hold on to hope.' Yeah, right," Hope muttered as he jumped down to the level below and gained a small bit of cover.

"Hey, wait up!" Snow called.

They hurried forward, Charon throwing a Kozuka into a few approaching Aerial Sniper's glossair ring jet-packs. They worked quickly, hurrying across the rooftops and some scaffolding, trying to stay out of the open. There were plenty of Aerial Snipers and occasional Falco Velocycles, but the three of them managed to make it forward across the buildings. Snow took a couple Gatling Guns from the Velocycles in Sentinel mode, Hope keeping up with the healing, but other than that, there proved to be no big issues.

"We, uh…we  _are_  sure that this is the right way?" Snow asked.

"Yes, now keep up," Charon snapped.

They climbed up from the makeshift road they were taking and to a regular roof of a building that might be open to the public were there any citizens left in the city to enjoy it.

Hope came to a stop. "Snow, I wanted to ask you something."

He turned back. "What's that?"

"You say you want a family. What if…what if they were  _taken_  from you?"

"Well then…I'd take 'em back," He said, pumping a fist.

"And what if you couldn't? What if you knew who was to blame?"

"Well, then, there'd be trouble."

He put his hands to his hips in confusion.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Hope sighed and looked down, while Snow, still oblivious as ever, seemed to examine the kid playfully.

"Did you get hit in the head, or something, or…?"

The building suddenly seemed to shake, and Charon turned with his hand on his Wakizashi just in time to see a large machine with an orange body and white wings - and seemingly a halo, for decorational purposes? - come flying up from below - one of the Ushumgal Subjugators that the Sanctum had patrolling the city.

"Guess we'll have to talk about this later!" Snow declared.

He moved to block Hope from it, but Hope shoved him to the side. "Don't just stand there!"

"Hope, wait!"

Hope surged forward, drawing his boomerang while Charon drew his Wakizashi and ran after. Hope began throwing his spells, while Charon swung his sword and sent out blasts of damage. Snow jumped up to kick and punch the Subjugator with his Ravager strike spells, while Charon managed to convince Hope to go Synergist and put up some Protect and Shell. The flying Subjugator let out a few waves of fire orbs in a Napalm attack, and Hope added Barfire to the list as well.

Snow and Charon got to work on staggering the thing, while the Napalms came in fast and rapidly. Hope finally got on all of his Synergist spells, and joined in the efforts to cast enough spells to help build the chain, just in time for them all to be sent flying up when the machine flipped in the air with a Tail Hammer. It instantly came back with another round of Napalm, while they quickly recovered their wits.

Hope healed them all up before they continued striking. It didn't have any terrible moves other than Tail Hammer and constant Napalms, but then the mech began to charge its energy and glowed with an aura, activating its Overdrive. It was given both Deprotect and Deshell, at the cost of getting a damaging Bravery as well. Instantly, it turned its attention to using a Tail Hammer against Snow and Charon, who were grouped together because of their physical attacking.

However, Snow switched to Sentinel and used Evade to - ahem - evade the attack, while Charon defended with his Wakizashi and blocked himself from getting tossed. Snow Steelguarded a Napalm before they switched offensive again and worked to cast all the spells they could to stagger it. It was barely a few seconds before the machine started glowing golden and they let loose.

Hope continued to cast his spells to build more of a stagger and increase the damage further, while Charon hacked and slashed with his sword and Snow punched and kicked. The machine constantly flinched under the assault and wasn't able to get any attacks out, but it had plenty of stamina and was able to hold out.

The moment that its stagger came to an end, it launched a Tail Hammer at Hope, who had already been battered with a few Napalms, but didn't heal himself since the stagger handled any potential damage that posed a threat previously. He, in turn, took a serious hit, and was put in critical before he came back down and hit the cement hard.

Snow Provoked and Steelguarded as he took an instant Napalm that would've hit the already weakened Hope, while Charon continued attacking and waited for Hope to heal them all up again. They did the rise and repeat process of attempting to stagger the thing again, while Hope had to renew the Synergist buffs and the Subjugator had to renew its Overdrive buffs/debuffs. They suffered a couple Tail Hammers, but thanks to Protect and Hope keeping them healed up, they didn't make much of a difference.

When they did stagger the thing, it didn't stand a chance. Of course, before they could finish it, the halo part of the machine glowed and spun before the machine took its leave and flew off before anything could be done about it.

"Aw, yeah!" Snow shouted, pumping a fist.

"I could go after it," Charon offered.

"Not really worth it."

"It could give away our position."

"Point. But it's over the horizon now. If it wants to come back, we'll already be long gone."

They noticed that Hope was resting his hands on his knees, hunched over and panting hard.

Charon kneeled down and looked to him before standing and looking around. "If you need to take a break, why don't we do it over there?"

He pointed to the public balcony area where people were allowed to usually come, had the city not been on red alert from l'Cie and everyone had been evacuated. When they headed over, Snow was instantly going for the vending machine - which Charon noted had a fuzzy sheep on it - and bought a drink.

He turned and offered it to Hope, who was leaning against a wall. "Here."

Hope sighed and looked to the offer. "I'm not thirsty," He spat.

Snow, finally noticing Hope's tone as being a bit bitter, lowered the drink slowly. "O…kay…"

He scratched the back of his head and walked over to the railing, popping open the can.

"Well, don't wanna  _waste_  it."

He began chugging down the drink while Charon rolled his eyes and sat down on one of the seats. Hope looked over to the railing in front of him sadly, before stepping forward, remembering that his mother had taken him there before when he was little. All throughout Palumpolum, Hope could only be reminded of her, and how she was gone.

He shook his head clear of the memory, something that shouldn't have been so painful. "I can't…Snow?"

The man turned with a sigh, burping as he finished the drink already.

"What do you plan to do? I need to know."

"I told you. Save Serah, protect Cocoon, and have myself a  _big_ , happy family. Still, it's a long road ahead."

He looked to the brand on his arm.

"Or, maybe not so long. Whatever happens, things will work themselves out. Even if you're l'Cie, you've gotta keep  _fighting._ "

He tossed his can over and smiled in approval when he made it in.

Hope stepped forward, his fists clenched. "And what if that gets people around you involved?"

Snow looked over to him in confusion, but it seemed Hope was finally hitting him where it hurt. "Wha-?"

"What happens when your actions end up ruining someone's life?"

He took a step backwards, thinking about Serah, the other members of NORA.

"Hope…" Charon began, standing and carefully making his way over.

But Hope wasn't backing down. "What if someone  _dies?!_  What then, Snow?!"

"I…"

Snow backed up to the railing and Hope continued stomping forward. "How do you pay for what you've done?!"

Snow turned and pounded his hands onto the metal railing. "I can't, all right?! There is  _nothing_  that can make something like that right again. When someone's dead, when someone's  _gone_ , words are useless."

"So that's  _it?!_  People die and you just run away?!"

He pounded his fist down. "I  _know!_  It's all my fault! But I  _don't_  know how to  _fix it!_  Where do you  _start?_ What do you  _say?_  All I can do is go forward. Keep fighting and surviving, until I find the answers I need."

" _There are no answers!_  You're running from what you deserve!"

"Well, why don't you  _tell_  me what I deserve?!"

"The same fate!"

Energy began building up around Hope before it suddenly exploded outwards. Snow turned just in time to see it before the entire balcony shook from the force, sending Snow over the edge and the railing soaring away. Charon was knocked back into the wall behind him, away from Hope and Snow, and the wind was knocked out of him from the pure rage put into the energy Hope had made the explosion from. He'd known Hope was angry, and he had every right to be, but damn.

Snow managed to grab onto the edge of the building, and Hope stomped forward, drawing his switchblade.

Unbeknownst to them, a Skytank had taken interest in the commotion, and was flying their way.

"Hope…!" Charon called, but he was still struggling to pick himself up. "Hope!"

But the boy took no interest in Charon's calls, nor the Skytank, as he was solely focused on Snow.

"Nora Estheim. She was my mother. And she died because of you!"

"You…! You're the one she meant…!"

Hope kneeled and readied his weapon. He raised it above his head with a shout of anger, and Snow braced himself.

"Hope!" Charon called.

The Skytank shot out missiles towards the balcony, and Hope barely had time to gasp in surprise before Charon pushed him forward, blocking him from the fire and shockwave for the most part, but still sending him flying off the balcony and beyond Charon's reach as he dealt with the blunt of the attack.

"Hope!" Snow called.

As he had been hanging from the side of the building, he was protected from the explosion, but he pulled himself up before launching after the boy as he fell, knocked unconscious from the blast. As Snow had pushed himself off the building and weighed much more than Hope, it took barely a second for him to grab onto the boy and wrap him in a tight embrace.

As they fell, Snow twisted them so that he shielded Hope from the impact of hitting glass awnings lined up along the side of the building. By the third one, they had lost enough momentum so that they didn't bust through, and instead rolled off landing on a ton of stacked crates a good thirty feet below. Hope rolled out of Snow's grasp, and Snow was too injured and exhausted to do anything about it. With the knowledge that Hope was at least alive, Snow lost consciousness.

* * *

**_Day 5_ **

**_Euride Gorge Energy Plant_ **

* * *

_When we came out of crystal stasis, we didn't remember our Focus or what we'd done. All we could do was wander Cocoon, looking for what we'd lost_.

Fang, Shu, and Vanille ran through the energy plant.

"And you're supposed to be?" Fang called.

"Pulse fal'Cie Asushunamir. Agender, please. Nice to meet you girls. Now let's get out of here!"

Shu brought them to a stop near an elevator.

"It's on emergency lockdown, but when in doubt…"

They tapped the control panel and vines started growing within.

"I'm severing some wires connecting it to the mainframe and the lockdown. Should be up and running in a sec."

Fang did one last look around for troops coming from either side, before turning to Vanille.

"Let's give up!" Vanille begged. "Forget our Focus, we don't  _need_  it!"

"We don't  _need_  it?" Fang repeated in disbelief. "Look, if we  _don't_  figure it out and pull it off,  _you're_  gonna be a  _Cie'th!_ "

Vanille looked down. "It's just…making a kid that young a l'Cie? It's not right!"

"Yeah, it's  _unfair_. But guess what? We grin and bear it like good l'Cie, or the fal'Cie starts making  _more_. Like that girl, the other day? It doesn't  _matter_  what our Focus is. We do it, whether we like it or not."

"But…"

"Say we call it quits. You think these people will let us go? They'll lynch us in the street."

"Online," Shu reported.

Fang looked around again before sighing and putting her hands to Vanille's shoulders. "Listen, Vanille. We do what we've gotta do and get ourselves off this filthy world, as fast as we can."

Fang guided Vanille into the elevator.

"Fang…?"

"You get out of here first. I'll buy you some time."

"Uh, splitting up?" Shu asked.

Vanille gave a hesitant look as well.

"Ah, ah," Fang chided. "Now, don't you worry. I'll come and find you, no matter where you go."

Fang hit the ground floor button before hitting the top floor and a random one in the middle to fool the system and then smashing the panel with her lance. Vanille stepped forward to protest, but Fang pushed her back into the elevator and backflipped out. Shu, figuring that Fang needed more protection than Vanille, quickly hopped out as well as the elevator doors close and the platform began to descend.

Vanille, having been knocked off her feet, crawled forward frantically to the rapidly closing doors, but the doors were closing from both the bottom and top as well as each side, so there was barely enough room for her head to fit through by the time she got to it, and no way was she attempting that.

"Wait! Fang!"

And the doors slammed closed.

"Fang! Please! Don't leave me!"

But Vanille's voice grew further and further as the elevator left, and Fang rested her hand on the closed doors. "You're  _not_  gonna end up a Cie'th."

"Incoming!" Shu announced, drawing their sword as a few troops came running into the room.

Fang turned with determination, joining Shu as she twirled her lance, ready for battle. "You boys coming or not?! Your fight's right here!"

 _By the time we took care of 'em all, Vanille was long gone. After that, Shu took me to Raines and his Cavalry. I never stopped searching for Vanille, but I couldn't find her. Her, or our Focus_.

* * *

"So, you're telling me you two are…fal'Cie?" Lightning summarized.

"In the flesh!" Shu said proudly.

"Pulse fal'Cie," Rei confirmed. "Just trying to get home, really."

"And Serah will come back to life someday, too?" She finished.

"Yep," Fang said.

"Albeit, it might take a few hundred-" Shu began, but Rei elbowed them in the gut. "Ow…"

"Shh."

"We didn't do our job right," Fang continued. "That's why it made her a l'Cie." She sighed. "We messed up. Sorry."

Lightning looked over to her, before stepping forward and standing in front of her. There was a moment of hesitation, before Lightning slapped Fang across the jaw, backhanded.

"Ooo, now that's what I call being struck by Lightning!" Shu exclaimed, but got another elbow to the gut a moment later. "Missed you too, Rei," They choked out.

A few birds went flying in surprise, but other than that, the soldiers above the alley they were in luckily didn't notice any traces of them yet.

Fang waited a moment, but when no other blow came, she looked up. "That it?"

"You sure better hope so. But whether we're square, that's up to Serah."

"You sound exactly like Snow."

Lightning turned away and crossed her arms.

"And  _he_  didn't hit me," Fang added.

"Wait, he already  _knows_  this?"

"Wow." Fang stood and stretched. "That's a load off. Glad I apologized!"

"You apologized so you'd feel better?"

"Guess so. How 'bout you? Feel any better now that you hit me?"

Lightning paused before scoffing. "It didn't change anything."

Fang chuckled before putting her hand to her chin. "Tell that to my jaw."

"I mean, it wasn't  _really_  your fault, Fang," Rei said. "We were at war with Cocoon, and consider that if your Focus was specifically to bring down Cocoon, a lot of other l'Cie didn't even make it to crystal stasis. Overall, I'd say that things turned out better than they could've."

"Now let's go meet up with Charon!" Shu urged. "Oh, and the other two."

"Felix Heights is up there," Rei said, pointing. "Still a ways before we get to Hope's place."

"Better pick it up," Fang said.

"We'll head through that gate," Lightning suggested.

"Right."

They hopped out of the alley they had taken shelter in, and Shu took a deep breath. "Smells like death and destruction! Charon must've passed through here!"

They hurried down the streets, seeing the soldiers and the Orions stationed for them to fight. The civilians had all been cleared at this point, meaning the level of security and troops had gone up from before.

"I think they're ready to sacrifice the city, if that's what it takes," Lightning muttered.

"In case that wasn't obvious enough," Rei said. "You'd think they'd have been able to locate us by the certain troops that we've been taking out."

"They're dumb-dumbs," Shu agreed.

They headed over to the bridge that Lightning had pointed out and cleared it before Fang pulled out her com. "Okay, let's get Snow on the line."

She activated the screens and punched in his number, but when she put it to her ear, all she got was static. She grunted and shook the thing, but still nothing. "Damn thing's still jammed."

She snapped the thing closed as the screens retracted.

"Eh, he can take care of himself."

"We'll just have to believe that," Lightning said.

"Charon's with them," Shu said, lying down at the top of the steps. "They'll be fine."

"The others are safe, right?" Lightning asked. "If any of us got caught, they'd make an announcement."

"Yeah they would," Fang agreed. "They'd have to let everyone know that the big, bad l'Cie can't hurt 'em no more. These Cocoon people - bunch of cowards and blowhards."

"'These Cocoon people' have spent centuries under fal'Cie law, in constant fear of a Pulse invasion. If it weren't for Serah, I'd have been out there too. Hunting l'Cie. Would've been nothing but targets to me."

"Well, Gran Pulse is  _just_  as twisted. 'Cocoon's a floating nest of vipers, ready to strike.' Or so I thought."

"That was mostly just Anima," Rei said. "We tried to stay out of the fight, but Anima insisted. Got all huffy over something, and suddenly Cocoon is the biggest enemy of all."

"The other fal'Cie didn't care much for war," Shu agreed. "The whole 'Floating nest of vipers' is what one fal'Cie led most of the population of humans on Pulse to believe. Anima went to branding all those people, staring an entire war on her own."

"So, you became a l'Cie to fight the 'vipers,'" Lightning guessed. "And destroying the nest is your…"

She cut herself off and moved her hand to her chest where her brand was.

"I mean,  _our_  Focus, now."

Fang stood with a sigh. "Until we woke up here, we'd been in crystal stasis. Which means…we _must've_ completed our first Focus."

She shuffled, before groaning and throwing her head back in exasperation.

"Why can't I  _remember_  that part?! My childhood's clear as day. But the  _one thing_  I need - it's just…gone. Blank. Like an empty page. I reach for the memory, and  _nothing's_  there. Then there's my brand. It's all messed up."

She looked to her upper arm where her brand was, white instead of black, and she brushed her hand over it impassively like she was angry at it.

"I'll admit, I've never seen that happen to a brand before," Rei said. "It seems to be frozen. Most likely it's related to the loss of your Focus. But I'm not sure if a fal'Cie possess the power to freeze a brand like that, even if it was one of their making. Even if they could, what are the odds that they  _would?_ "

Fang sighed and led them down the steps. "Vanille and me, we lost our past and our Focus."

"And now…you wanna  _find_  them?" Lightning asked. "Be a Pulse l'Cie? An enemy of Cocoon?"

"Pulse and Cocoon can  _rot_  for all I care," Fang declared. "If I don't figure out our Focus soon… _Vanille's_ gonna be a Cie'th."

She laced her fingers together in front of her and looked up.

"I'll tear down the sky if it'll save her."

She looked down, and Lightning looked to Fang with sympathy, pity, but also admiration at her resolve.

They moved past the bridge and a few more troops, before coming to one of the gates blocking off the path forward.

"We cut through the passage up ahead, and we'll be in the residential district," Lightning called, pointing to a path that went off the main road.

Fang demonstrated her ability to cast Slow and Slowga when they faced a pair of fast Orions, but other than that, there were little issues or special things they had to do to take down the forces. They headed down some steps through the passageway that wasn't closed off. It looked to be more of a secondary road, not blocked from the public but not often used - just something to get between buildings. Luckily, it seemed that it wasn't important enough for the army to close off.

"Hey, Lightning," Fang called, coming to a stop.

"Call me Light," She said.

"Did you see Vanille's brand?"

"No."

"No, huh? What about you, Rei?"

"Just half of it. Early stages. But that was a long time ago."

"Why do you ask?" Lightning asked.

She sighed as they walked forward. "Wanna know how long until it's Cie'th city? Just look at your brand."

Lightning looked down in surprise, before turning and unzipping her jacket under her vest to see her brand at her chest.

"You start getting more arrows, and then finally an eye," Fang explained. "Once it opens all the way, you're done."

"Thirteen stages," Shu said. "Evidence of the eye actually begins at stage three, but it's really small and hard to notice if you don't know what you're looking for. It's just a little after getting your first arrow, so you might think that you're still in stage two when really you've moved to stage three already. It's the same pattern for stage four and five, four you gain an arrow, but five the eye just increases in size. After that, each stage gains you a new arrow and the eye grows wider and wider. First the outer arrows on the bottom, left then right, then the same with the top, and the same with the inner - but not middle since those came in first - arrows. The time you know the eye is actually open is when the black dot in the middle turns white, because that eye can get really big and still not be fully open."

"Those are easy to track," Rei agreed. "The Lindzei ones always confused me. You grow, like, another layer around the first, then you grow the wing thingies and then more layers and a fan thing…I don't know. Another reason to like Pulse more than Lindzei."

"Let's have a look," Fang said, moving over to Lightning. "Don't be shy."

"O…Okay…"

She looked to the brand on Lightning's chest. "Nowhere near. You got time."

She stepped back and allowed Lightning to zip up her jacket again.

"Still, you never know. Some people, doesn't take so long. You get a nasty shock, it can speed up the process."

"Sometimes there are people so terrified at being made a l'Cie that they instantly turn Cie'th upon branding," Rei agreed. "Those who are emotionally unstable in general won't last long either."

"Vanille's brand must be pretty far along by now. I've  _gotta_  save her and get her  _home_."

"To Pulse, you mean?" Lightning asked.

"To  _Gran_  Pulse. I hear that the Sanctum  _prevents_  people from  _leaving_  Cocoon."

She scoffed and crossed her arms.

"I'd like to see 'em try and stop  _me._ "

"So, that's your plan?" Lightning asked.

"Hm?"

"I wish I had one. Without Serah…without a  _future_ …there's nothing to plan for. There's no way out of this mess, and no way to  _fight_  it. I'm stuck trading blows with the Sanctum, but that's no plan. Even if we topple the  _government_ , where's that leave us? With nothing to fight for? I might as well be dead."

"What about your sister?" Shu asked. "You've got  _plenty_  to fight for.  _Think about it_. Don't you wanna see Serah, after she wakes up? That's your future right there. Keep moving forward, find a way to see her again. All you've gotta do is survive and keep your goal of seeing her in mind. Right? It's simple!"

"Right," Lightning said sarcastically.

"Aw, don't be such a downer! Considering how terrified you Cocoon people are of Pulse, it's amazing you've done as well as you're doing! If anyone can make it through this, I'd put my gil on you guys!"

Rei hugged Shu, who was just a little taller than her. "I've missed you and your annoyingly optimistic view on life."

"Thanks!"

There was suddenly the sound of engines and they all looked up to see a group of ships flying past.

"Snow!" Lightning realized.

"They found 'em!" Fang agreed.

"Chare!" Shu shouted, and was already sprinting forward, the girls following behind.

* * *

When Charon woke up, he was surrounded by piles of random junk that he'd fallen in.

He sat up and tried to gather his bearings. The explosion had knocked him further than Snow and Hope, as he had protected Hope from the bulk of the blast and Snow had been safe since he was hanging off the building. No love for the fal'Cie, really.

He grunted as he moved, sore as his injuries healed. Bones cracked back into place, lacerations mended themselves, and bruises tingled before disappearing. Honestly, human form could be convenient, but also annoying.

He could get knocked out, he had blood, he had bones. And he was so  _tiny_. He was taller than most, but still, he was puny compared to his true form. Not to mention it was awkward, having his arms and legs in the positions they were in, having to walk on two feet, needed to actually move his mouth and talk with the correct syllables rather than just telepathic speech.

It made him curious as to what Shu's true form was. He guessed some kind of nature-istic form, obviously, but fal'Cie came in all shapes and sizes.

He picked himself up as his injuries finished healing, but he knew that he'd wasted a lot of energy in doing so. Being blasted by an explosion from the Skytank missiles just after being hit hard from Hope's explosion of power did a number on him.

As long as he didn't strain himself, he'd be fine.

Hope and Snow had landed at the base of the building, but Charon could see the building they had been on, and it was a good distance away. The Skytank was still there, lowering to probably drop some troops down to take them in. At his current state, flying would be considered straining Charon's powers, not to mention trying to teleport or Warp-Strike.

Walking it was.

Great.

* * *

" _Transfer requests will not be granted,_ " An announcement continued. " _Violators will be treated as enemy combatants. I repeat_ _…This is a PSICOM announcement._ "

"No kidding!" Rei shouted as they walked through Felix Heights.

" _This area has been placed under quarantine. Entry to and exit from this area are prohibited. Transfer requests will not be granted. Violators will be treated as enemy combatants._ "

Felix Heights was a beautiful area, especially with the sunset adding to the ambiance. There were some Corp Pacifexes and PSICOM Scavengers with powerful level two Manadrive abilities, such as Watera, and the Scavengers could cast Vigilance and had powerful Sap attacks, but the troops weren't hard or heavy in the area, so they blew their way through.

"Hope…" Lightning muttered.

"Come on," Rei encouraged. "We'll make it if we hurry."

* * *

Charon climbed a ladder, grumbling to himself the entire way about being forced to climb a ladder.

"Who's idea was it to live so high up, anyway?!"

The ground rumbled from explosions, and Charon couldn't help but smile to himself thinking about the havoc Shu was causing without him. That fool could make him laugh even when he wasn't there. Gods, he loved that person so much it hurt.

He finally made it to the top of the ladder and the building to find Snow struggling forward with Hope on his back.

"Hey!" Charon called.

"Hey, where've you been?"

"Tossed off a building from an explosion. You?"

"Fell off a building, and I may be l'Cie, but I still get hurt like a human."

"You want me to take him?"

He hefted Hope. "No, I got it."

The movement caused Hope to stir, opening his eyes slowly and moving his head to realize who was carrying him.

"Hey," Snow greeted.

Hope suddenly sat up in surprise, before hesitating. "Why'd you save me?"

"I was asked to keep you safe. By Lightning…and by Nora. I'm sorry. What happened…it was  _my fault_. I put her…in danger. I  _know_  that. Let me make things right."

"You told me before that you couldn't."

He scoffed weakly. "And that words were useless, and a lot of other things I shouldn't have said. Look, I didn't know  _what_  to do, didn't know how to set things straight. So I didn't. I thought if I couldn't make up for it, then all the apologies in the world wouldn't mean a thing. So I decided I had to find a way to pay for it first, before I'd even have the  _right_  to say sorry. But…it's like you said. I was using that as an excuse, so I could run from my own guilt."

Snow grunted as he stood, still opting to carry Hope even though he seemed in much better condition than the guy who had to have broken his spine from taking that kind of fall.

"That…hit home."

He took a step forward, but nearly lost his balance, and Charon tried to help stabilize him. "Easy. You sure you don't want me to take him?"

Snow shook his head. "Look, Hope. I know what happened was my fault. I don't deny it, and I  _am_  sorry."

He passed over the switchblade that Hope had tried to kill Snow with.

"Here. That's Light's, isn't it?"

Hope took the weapon hesitantly. "I…Why'd you…?"

Snow began trudging forward. "That knife…was a present from Serah. To keep her safe."

Hope unsheathed the blade and stared at it in interest.

"She trusted you with something that important? You should be the one to carry it."

They made their way down a set of stairs and into a plaza.

"I'll find a way to make things better. Just give me time. If nothing I do is good enough, then I'll take  _any_ punishment you wanna dish out."

Hope hesitated, staring at the blade not with anger, but with sadness. "She's gone, Snow."

 _That_ caused him to pause in his tracks.

"You can take the blame…but it won't bring her back."

Snow's head fell. "I'm sorry."

"I-I knew it all along. I knew it, but…I had to blame  _someone_. I  _had_  to."

Hope flipped the blade back into the hilt once more.

"I needed a reason…to-to keep on fighting."

"It wasn't  _someone's_  fault. It was  _mine_. Take it out on me. And keep yourself alive until you do."

Snow tried to continue forward, but he finally collapsed, releasing Hope and falling forward to the ground. Hope managed to land on his feet, and Charon kneeled beside Snow. "Hey, man, don't push yourself."

"I have to…keep going…"

He crawled his way over to the next set of steps out of the plaza, leaning against the railing to pull himself to his feet. He held his hand over his stomach, panting hard. Man, were all humans this stubborn to kill themselves or was it just Snow? Charon still didn't understand humanity, and he was one of the most human fal'Cie out there.

"Eh, look at that," Snow mustered, seeing Hope standing there. "You don't even need any help. You're all right. That's good to see. Just let me…catch my breath."

He took deep breaths as he tried to regain his bearings, but then his face turned to horror as he looked beyond them into the sunset to see a large dot flying their way. He pushed away from the railing and stepped forward, Hope and Charon turning to where he was looking just in time to see the machine flying below the trees and out of eyesight.

The Ushumgal Subjugator from before flew into view, jumping above the trees to come down in the plaza with a smash, sliding across as it came to a stop with loud screeching of the feet against the ground. Dust was kicked up from the impact, and the machine slid to a stop in front of them, far too close for comfort. The machine was now in ground form resembling a beetle, as opposed to the aerial mode from before that resembled more of a wasp.

"Hope!" Snow called. "Get back!"

He shoved Hope clear.

"I got this o-"

But he was cut off as he and Charon were kicked back by one of the machine's claw-like legs in a giant swoop, thrown into the wall behind them. Snow was completely knocked out, while Charon had the wind knocked out of him, already weakened from being tossed and blown up earlier that day.

"Snow!" Hope called.

"No love for the fal'Cie," Charon muttered, holding his stomach.

His body was healing itself as quickly as ever, but it was leaving him with little power or energy left. It would take him time that they didn't have to recover enough energy to even stand properly, and Zanmato was no longer an option unless he was willing to kill himself, Snow, and Hope along with the Subjugator.

"Always the hero…" Hope muttered. "You wanna die?!"

Hope stood, putting away his switchblade and drawing his boomerang instead.

"You can't. I won't let you!"

With that, he walked up to face the Ushumgal Subjugator alone.


	17. This is Your Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I got thrown into three walls today, blown up twice, and punched in the gut by a giant robot. I deserve to sit comfortably in my SO's lap."
> 
> "Tell them that."
> 
> "You're not going anywhere, Su."
> 
> "Must you make me choose between a sandwich and my boyfriend?!" Shu whined.
> 
> "Yes," Rei and Charon said together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Sobs* Honestly, people, how can you hate Hope after this part of the game? Or Lightning, for that matter?

Hope started with Protect, Shell, and Barfire. The Subjugator braced itself before releasing a bunch of lasers into the air that came back down on Hope. It battered Hope with constant Lazer Rain, and though the Lazer Rain only did medium damage, the constant frequency of it is what posed the real danger.

Hope healed himself up before switching to Ravager and tossing all the Thunder spells he could - as it was weak to lightning - but without anyone else, he wasn't able to sustain a stagger gauge. He was able to withstand a couple Lazer Rains, as that was so far the only attack being thrown at him, but even he had to admit that there wasn't really a plan in mind here.

Then, a ring of orange appeared around him, and Hope realized he was being targeted - as if he wasn't already the center of attention. The Ushumgal Subjugator used Targeting a couple times, and Hope knew that something big was going to come from it, healing himself of the Lazer Rain damage completely.

The Subjugator then stepped forward and planted its feet before releasing a Pinpoint Beam, similar to Lazer Rain except all of the beams were completely concentrated on Hope, doing much more damage than the scattered lasers previously. Hope healed himself up again, just in time for another Pinpoint Beam to strike him down again. It was all Hope could do to keep himself healed, but each time, the Pinpoint Beam was barely doing more than he could heal.

Hope was stubborn, however, and continued healing himself and riding out the assault. Hope was able to get in the extra Cures between Pinpoint Beams, able to keep himself alive, but there was no time in-between for him to do anything offensive.

Hope held a defensive stance as the machine descended upon him, but then Fang, Rei, Lightning and Shu ran up.

"Not bad, kid!" Fang shouted.

"Where's Charon?!" Shu demanded.

"And Snow?" Lightning added.

"They're okay! Over there!" Hope said, nodding towards where Charon had pulled Snow out of the way of the fight.

Fang readied her weapon. "Sure you're up to this?"

Lightning drew her gunblade. "Thing'll never know what hit it."

"You're gonna pay, asshole!" Shu shouted, drawing his sword.

Rei twirled her blades. "Let's see what ya got!"

The group went at it with their attacks, getting hit with the Lazer Rain attacks but easily pushing through. Hope gave the others Protect, Shell, and Barfire while Fang threw out some Slows, before everyone went offensive again, throwing Thunder spells and Sparkstrikes. Hope healed up everyone to full health, just before they pushed the machine into stagger.

Hope continued with the spells while everyone else went to pounding the thing, hacking and slashing, while also using Launch to throw the thing in the air. The thing had so much health that it managed to survive, although Shu did the honorary Smite attack to send it down to the ground hard, before it recovered and then began to use its Targeting once more.

Fang went Sentinel and took the attacks of the Pinpoint beam, taking significantly less damage than Hope would have, and her Mediguard also allowed her to do a sort of Regen effect and heal up some of the damage as well.

The machine then braced itself as the halo part came down in front of it, charging up a Photon Blaster before a large beam shot out and struck them all with numerous hits. Hope, however, healed up the damage easily, and they threw the thing into stagger once more, Fang doing the honors of launching it while the rest of them went to town attacking and building the stagger.

After that, the machine didn't stand a chance, if it ever did in the first place.

Shu was instantly running over to Charon the moment the fight was over, helping him sit up.

"Are you okay?" They asked frantically.

Charon groaned. "Sore everywhere and extremely drained, but I'll live. Just give me time to…ya know."

He waved his hand, trying to get out his point, but too tired.

Shu giggled. "You're cute when you're wiped out."

"Shut up."

Shu could only giggle again.

Hope, meanwhile, walked over to Lightning and held out her switchblade to her, allowing her to take it in confusion. "Um…Operation Nora…didn't work out."

Lightning, instead of being angry, surged forward to hug Hope in relief. "You'll be okay. I'll keep you safe."

"Lightning…I…me too. I mean, at least, I'll try. I'll try to watch out for you, too."

Lightning pulled back, her hands on his shoulders, before she sighed. She then proceeded to poke him in the forehead, earning a small chuckle from him.

Rei smiled and leaned down to meet Hope at eye level. "We'll all look after each other, right? That's what friends are for. The only people we can count on in this life. We're sorry all this happened to someone as young as you, but being suck with us can be  _all_  bad, right?"

He nodded. "Right."

"Don't forget about this one!" Fang called.

They looked over and saw her kneeling over a passed out Snow.

"That one'll be all right," Lightning assured her, walking over to help sling one of his arms over her shoulders. "He's too stubborn to die."

She pulled herself to her feet, able to hold up Snow's large frame all on her own. Shu pulled one of Charon's arms over their shoulders as well, and they lugged the two men forward as the hurried the rest of the way to Hope's place.

 _Knowing you'll always be welcome, no matter how much has changed…that's what having a home is all about_.

"These guys must be rich, man," Shu muttered.

"Shh," Rei hissed.

"It's true, though!"

The Estheim residence was as beautiful as the rest of Felix Heights, with a perfect view of the sunset. The front yard had a nice patch of grass and some flowers organized neatly, the walkway up to the door seemingly polished stone or glass. The baseball field shaped front yard didn't even have a railing, so if you were stupid enough to want to walk off the edge, you could go right ahead.

The building itself had a wall of glass panes that showed the living room, and Hope walked over to the front door hesitantly. He pressed the button that served as a doorbell ("It looks like an elevator button." "Shh, Shu. It's how they work on this planet." "It  _sounds_  like an elevator button too!" "Would you please be quiet?!") and after just a moment, the door slid open and a man came hurrying through.

"Hope!"

Hope struggled for his words, looking down. "M-Mom's gone…"

* * *

Lightning took Snow to one of the guest rooms, while Shu took Charon to another next door.

Around the house, there were pictures of Nora, Hope and his father, Bartholomew. "They look like a nice family," Rei said.

"Yeah," Shu agreed.

Hope had the tough job of explaining what happened to Nora to Bartholomew, visibly tense and unsure of what to do as his father cried. "Nora…"

"Dad…I, um…I know, I…"

He sighed. Hope wasn't good at talking to his father in general, let alone about something so serious and heartbreaking.

"I'll be in my room…"

Hope stood, moving to leave, but then hesitated as he was about to exit.

"We're gonna rest up. Then we'll leave. If they find out you're sheltering l'Cie, they'll-"

But Bartholomew slammed his fist down on the table with a grunt of frustration. "You're my son! This is your home."

Hope turned and looked at this father in surprise, but then moved over hesitantly and sat next to him on the couch. Bartholomew gently put his hand on Hope's shoulder, showing that he wasn't angry at Hope, that they had their differences and their quarrels in the past, but he still cared. In a time like this, there wasn't much room for hate left.

"My son…" He repeated.

Fang and Rei watched from the next room, smiling.

* * *

"Why do they have two living rooms?!" Shu asked. "I mean, what the heck? Why do you need  _two_  living rooms?"

"This one's got a TV," Charon pointed out.

He had insisted that he didn't need his own private room to heal, and Rei had protested that she didn't trust the two of them alone in a room with a bed together ("We're not  _that_  untrustworthy!" "But  _you_  are." "You can't really argue with her on that one, Shu." "I approve of you already." "Shut up, Charon! You're supposed to be on  _my_  side!") and so he was lying on the couch with his head Shu's lap.

"And a dining table," Rei added.

"How big  _is_  this house?!" Shu continued. "And do they have cars?! How would you use a car ten stories up like this?! Wait, do they own the whole building?!"

"Hovercars," Charon said simply. "The modern era is astounding. And they probably do own the whole building."

"Insane! And look at all the book cases!"

"Shu, stop squirming! I'm trying to get comfortable here!"

"Yeah, you're getting comfortable with your head rubbing my-"

"Okay, let's watch some TV!" Rei interrupted, pressing the power button on the remote in her hand.

She was getting better at this whole 'remote' thing.

" _Now for an update on the situation in Palumpolum. The l'Cie continue their desperate flight, and the military has now launched an all-out campaign to eliminate them._ "

"Hey guys," Fang said, walking in. "What you watching?"

"The news," Rei drawled. "We're apparently continuing our desperate flight and the military's coming to get us."

"What's new? You seen the kitchen? I'd fill up while you can, if you fal'Cie even eat."

"Ooo!" Shu exclaimed. "Rei, get me something!"

"Why me? Get something yourself. You're a picky eater."

"I've got a Charon on me!"

"Then tell him to move."

"Hello, don't pick on the crippled," Charon complained.

Rei threw a pillow at him. "You're healed at this point. Stop acting like a bunch of hits has fatally wounded you!"

"I got thrown into three walls today, blown up twice, and punched in the gut by a giant robot. I deserve to sit comfortably in my SO's lap."

"Tell them that."

"You're not going anywhere, Su."

"Must you make me choose between a sandwich and my boyfriend?!" Shu whined.

"Yes," Rei and Charon said together.

"I see you three are getting along well," Fang commented.

" _In the event you must leave your home, please follow the instructions broadcast on this channel._ "

Fang rolled her eyes at the reporter and turned her attention to a picture of Nora, Hope, and Bartholomew. "Must be the kid's family," She sighed.

* * *

Lightning flicked the blade of her switchblade, clicking it from fully drawn to loose and then fully in place once more. The blade locked into place when it was completely out and battle-ready, but with a little energy, it could be pushed out of that locked state so that you could flip the blade into the hilt, but she simply clicked it into and out of place while the reporter continued with images of one of the mobs of people that had seen the l'Cie.

Snow was lying on the bed of the guest room, healed up by Lightning with some bandages wrapped around his chest and over his shoulder.

" _Roughly twenty-five hundred civilians believed to have come in contact with the l'Cie are now being held in quarantine by the Sanctum. Our latest insta-poll has shown a vast majority in favor of the immediate Purging of these individuals, believing their treatment-_ "

Lightning switched off the TV as Snow grunted and struggled to sit up. "Hey…"

Snow made it vertical, holding his hand over his stomach and his injured ribs.

"Lay down," Lightning sighed.

Snow looked over and noticed Lightning leaving against the table beside the bed. She flipped the switchblade closed and moved to sit on the seat beside the bed.

Snow gave a grunt as he laid back down again without a fight, one hand behind his head casually. "All right."

Lightning crossed her legs as she sat, and Snow noticed the weapon in her hands.

"Huh. I see you took the kid's toy away."

"Eh…he gave it back to me. Said  _he_  didn't need it anymore."

Snow smiled and looked back up to the ceiling. "Huh. Go figure."

She sighed. "It was too much."

"Hm?"

He looked over and saw her looking down at the knife in her hands sadly. "What happened to Serah. All I could think about…was, 'What could I have done?' I hated myself for not trusting her. It hurt too much. I couldn't face it."

She gripped the knife tightly, before sighing and putting it away.

"Look, Snow…"

She sighed and uncrossed her legs, trying to find the words.

"I…"

Finally, she looked up to him.

"I'm sorry. Forgive me."

He was genuinely surprised, sitting up and leaning on his arms. "For what?"

She scoffed and stood, turning away. "Everything."

He smiled and laid back again, this time with both hands behind his head. "Well, if you told me your real name, I suppose I could."

She turned back to him and chuckled. "Have Serah tell you - when she comes back."

He laid his head back. "Deal."

They both looked over as they suddenly heard the door opening and saw Rei. "Bartholomew said he wishes to see us all. He wants to talk."

Snow grunted as he sat up, and Lightning looked down. Back into the real world again.

* * *

Charon was sitting against the armrest of the couch now, his legs across Shu's lap, who was sitting perpendicular to him and actually leaning against the back of the couch properly. Rei was sitting at the middle of the couch braiding flowers into Shu's hair, with Bartholomew and Hope sitting at the other end. Fang sat on her chair with her arms crossed, Lightning was standing next to hers, and Snow was on the edge of his seat across from the couch and Bartholomew, staring at the floor in deep thought.

The silence was deafening, honestly.

Everything was awkward, as the tension was high and no one knew what to say. No one could guess, not even Hope, about how Bartholomew felt about Nora's death. Logically, he was angry, but also sad, and with Snow right there, they were expecting him to get the anger out of his system eventually. Then again, look how long it took Hope to get out his rage.

Finally, Snow couldn't take it anymore and was twitching like crazy. He stood before falling to his hands and knees. "The blame is mine. I couldn't save her," He declared, lowering his head to the ground.

Bartholomew sighed and dropped his head into his hand.

"If it wasn't for Snow, I wouldn't be here right now," Hope said in his defense.

It was hard to believe Hope had ever had some kind of vendetta against Snow, any anger in his system at all. Hope was noble and kind, mature for his age, stuck in a situation he didn't ask for, and taking it better than most would.

Bartholomew looked up. "Snow. Did Nora…did she say anything to you?"

"Hope," He remembered. "She said to…to get him home."

Bartholomew looked over to Hope, and the boy nodded in confirmation. He turned back to Snow. "And that's exactly what you've done."

Snow looked up in surprise, Hope looked to his father happily, and everyone else breathed a sigh of relief as the tension in the room suddenly dissipated, Lightning finally taking her seat.

"Face to face like this, it's…hard to believe you're all 'dangerous fugitives.' But the  _entire world_  is scared to  _death_  of you l'Cie. No, not even just you. People who've helped you, bumped into you…sometimes it's even just people who've  _walked by_  one of you. They think they're 'tainted' and want  _every one_  of them Purged."

"The Sanctum's a puppet of the fal'Cie!" Snow blurted. "To them, our lives don't mean  _anything_  at all. We'll stop this. Take down the Sanctum,  _and_  save Cocoon."

Snow pumped a fist.

"You've thought that through?"

And Snow's fist fell.

"If l'Cie take down the Sanctum, fear of Pulse will only get  _worse_. It won't stop at fear. People will take up arms and stand against you. Can you imagine it? The rampant violence?"

"When the government's control is gone, the citizens will revolt," Rei summarized. "Sounds logical. Without anything to control them, society itself will dissolve into anarchy, and the only way that they're going to be able to pull themselves together is find a common enemy: us."

"The Sanctum's got the populace wrapped around their finger," Charon said. "If we want to make a difference, we're going to have to try and show them the truth when it's unlikely any of them even  _want_  to believe us about it."

Fang stood. "So, what then? We're supposed to just  _smile_  and eat a bullet? That means you, too."

Bartholomew chuckled. "I know I'm part of this. I'm on  _your_  side of the fence. 'Harborer of l'Cie,' and a public enemy. Heck, 'Harborer of Pulse  _fal'Cie_ ,' as well."

Fang sighed in guilt and Hope's head fell. "Coming here…was a bad idea."

Bartholomew put a hand on his shoulder firmly. "This is your home."

Hope smiled at his father, seemingly getting along with him for the first time in a long time, if ever. Even under the circumstances, they were all happy that Hope finally got the chance to reconcile with his dad.

Bartholomew stood. "We're all here. Let's figure this out together."

The all smiled in agreement, before the lights suddenly flickered off.

"Huh?"

Everyone jumped to their feet, on alert and looking around. Lightning's Guardian Corps shoulder guard had two glowing bands of light on them, and the flowers that Rei had been putting in Shu's hair were bioluminescent, but other than that, since the sun had long since gone down, they were basically in the dark.

Outside, soldiers began swarming the house, Aerial Snipers with their glossair jet-packs landing on the roof. Listening closely, Rei looked up. "Uh-oh."

"Head up!" Lightning shouted.

Glass shattered above them, before three smoke grenades were dropped into the room, one landed on either side of the table and another landing actually  _on_  the table. Instantly, they released a gas that had half the room coughing and struggling to breathe, not to mention blinding them all.

The wall of glass panels leading outside to the front yard were suddenly smashed as troops swarmed in.

"Hope! In the back!" Snow shouted, coughing and holding his arm over his nose and mouth before he fell to his knees.

Hope pulled his dad over to Snow. "You're not ready for this. I'll stay here. Snow, help my dad!"

Shu kicked down a soldier and punched another in the fast, grabbing him and throwing him into another that Charon was chucking his way so that the two hit each other with a few cracks of broken bones. Lightning dislocated the arm of a soldier and punched him away while Fang gave a roundhouse kick to another.

Snow took Hope's hand and nodded with a smile, taking Bartholomew into one of the back rooms. "Come on!"

Hope watched them go, before turning just in time to see a soldier training his gun on him. Before the soldier could even think about firing, Rei spun and kicked his wrist to knock his gun away while continuing and knocking him in the jaw, sending him to the ground.

The ground came together before splitting up, taking down PSICOM Scavengers and Predators all around, along with a couple Aerial Snipers that got into the room when the ceiling came down and the occasional Bombardier. They were able to clear out the room working together, but there were still more troops coming in from other entry points in the house.

"If we barricade ourselves in here, they're not gonna just give up and go away," Fang pointed out.

"Ya think?" Rei asked sarcastically.

"Then do we have a plan in mind?" Charon asked.

"We could just book it and run," Shu suggested.

"We're like, ten stories up. Booking it isn't gonna be that easy. And we'll be forced to leave Hope's dad behind."

He took a deep breath and blew a wave of black smoke out towards the hall where a bunch of troops were coming in, causing them all to start screaming and instantly falling.

"And you  _kiss_  this man?" Rei asked.

"Shut up," Charon snapped.

"Yes," Shu stated proudly. "And he tastes delicious.  _All_  of him."

"Okay!" Fang interrupted. "Let's just clear out the area, shall we? Give ourselves some breathing room?"

They nodded and split up, heading down the halls of the house and clearing out the waves of enemy troops that had come in until the area was clear.

Fang chuckled. "The adrenaline's flowing now."

"Okay, so what are we doing?" Lightning asked.

"Looks like they're just waiting for us to come into view out there," Rei reported, standing at the wall next to the busted down windows. "Plenty of men just sitting out there with their guns aimed. Probably figured that sending them in here is just a suicide mission, and that waiting for us to exit is the best plan."

"They're probably staking out the lower levels too," Charon pointed out. "We're not getting out without getting shot."

"We could bust out," Shu suggested. "I mean, like  _bust_  out."

"Don't know about you, but I'd take down this building if I let out my true form."

"Ooo, you have me interested."

"What about you?"

"Probably," They admitted.

"Me too," Rei said. "The building's too small, especially the front yard. They're quite right now, so charging out there isn't an option. For some reason it's more comforting when they're trying to bust down the building cuz at least you know where they are."

"Silence is golden. And duct tape is silver."

"True that."

Snow and Bartholomew peeked out from the other room where they were taking shelter in, while Hope was staring down at the fallen picture of his family. He looked up and noticed the two, before a search-light shined on them from a Skytank outside.

"Who ordered the battalion?" Fang asked sarcastically.

"I ordered the Cavalry, but the battalion showed up instead," Charon muttered.

"They'll take out the whole building next," Lightning pointed out. "Might not be a bad idea to bust out those true forms or whatnot."

"We'll save it for Plan C," Rei said.

"We have a Plan A and B?" Shu asked.

Lightning waved over Snow and Bartholomew, and they quickly rushed over to the sort-of safe spot that they had made.

"Dad!"

"Hope! Thank goodness! Are you hurt?"

"No. How about you?"

"Still in one piece."

Hope looked over and nodded to the others, Snow breathing hard and still holding his stomach from his injury. He laid down against the wall, Lightning and Fang taking the position near the windows. Snow crawled over to look past Lightning and saw the waves of soldiers ready to shoot at a moment's notice.

"My turn," He muttered, moving to get to his feet.

Fang moved out of the way, and Lightning stood from her crouched position and hesitantly did the same.

Snow removed his trench coat. "Can one of you hold this out as a decoy? I need to get them to talk, but the moment I get out there, they're gonna shoot."

"Sure," Charon said, taking the jacket.

He took Lightning's place at the edge of the safe spot right next to the window, putting his back to the wall. He held the trench coat out, and instantly it was hit with a barrage of gunfire, some of it hitting Charon's arm and caused him to wince, but he was otherwise unaffected.

"Don't shoot!" Snow shouted. "I'll  _show_  you what a l'Cie looks like!"

The gunmen hesitantly took their fingers off the triggers and Charon dropped the coat. "Good luck."

Snow slowly walked out, his hands up in surrender, and dozens of red beams instantly focused on his head and chest. He stepped out one of the broken windows, allowing them to see that he was giving himself up.

" _This_  was the brilliant plan?" Rei asked.

Charon shrugged. "You got a better one? Talking it out is a place to start, but I don't have anything to say that might get these idiots to stand down."

"Me!  _I'm_  a l'Cie!" Snow shouted. "Surprised? Expected some kinda  _monster?!_  I'm  _flesh_  and  _blood_  like you! An  _ordinary_  citizen of Cocoon!"

"Well, I wouldn't say  _that_ ," Shu muttered.

"Shh."

Snow slowly dropped his hands, but clenched a fist. "Don't you  _get_  it?! This has been our home our  _whole_ lives! How could we even  _think_  about destroying it?! We wanna protect this place  _just_  as much as you!"

That sent a wave of confusion through the troops.

"Wha…?" "He's on  _our_  side?" "I don't see a weapon." "He's lying!" "What if he's telling the truth?" "Stay tough, men!" "It's a trick!"

"You must be Snow Villiers."

The light of the Skytank moved to focus on a man behind the troops. The moment he spoke, the soldiers gasped and silenced. He walked forward through the men, and Snow held his hands up to see him past the light being shone in his eyes.

The man was wearing a clear military uniform, high up in the rankings too. Clearly he was the commander of the operation and it took a moment to realize that it was-

"Yaag Rosch, PSICOM Division. I understand your plight. However, the Pulse threat is not so easily dismissed. The very  _existence_  of you  _l'Cie_  puts  _every last one_  of us in danger."

Shu stuck their tongue out and blew a raspberry.

"Tell me, do you really think  _your_  life is worth more than the lives of  _millions_  of Cocoon citizens? I do  _not_. And so, if falls to  _me_  to order your execution. It's that simple. It is  _my_  responsibility to see  _you_  put down."

He turned away.

"Your lives are forfeit."

"Aw,  _cut_  the  _crap!_  You  _want_  l'Cie, then  _kill_  l'Cie! Why do other people have to  _die?!_  The Purge has got to  _stop!_ "

Rosch turned abruptly. "Do you think we  _want_  to Purge our own people?! If any trace of Pulse remains, the populace will erupt into  _chaos!_  Without sacrifice, without the Purge, Cocoon  _will_  die!"

"And  _who's_  fault is that?! You spout all the nonsense about how bad Pulse is, and  _you're_  the ones that make it so bad that you need to Purge every person that's come within twenty feet of us, as though that makes them  _tainted_."

Suddenly, a pair of gas grenades were thrown above the crowd of soldiers, and they all looked around in panic, as they had no idea who threw them. The gas was released, even more of the grenades being thrown around to thicken the smog, causing the soldiers to run around in confusion and Snow and Rosch to start coughing.

"Who fired?!" Rosch called. "I gave no order!"

A couple explosions ripped through the area and some soldiers screamed in pain. Rosch backed up, some of the soldiers trying to block him from an unseen enemy. Gunfire came out of seemingly nowhere, and as the enemy had to have been some of the soldiers, there was no way to tell where it was coming from in the smoke.

Rosch's men quickly fell around him, until he was finally able to spot one of the soldiers training their gun on him. "No!"

But the soldier fired, and Rosch fell back from the attack. As the attack took place outside, the others looked out in confusion.

"I guess the Cavalry  _did_  come," Charon muttered.

"Fall back!" One of the soldiers shouted.

"We're leaving!" Lightning announced. "Hope! Tie up your dad. We  _threatened_  you and  _forced_  you to help us. Got it?"

Bartholomew moved to stand. "There must be something else-"

"Do as she says!" Hope shouted.

His father looked ready to protest, but upon seeing his son's face, bit his tongue and backed down. He knew that Hope didn't want this either, that leaving him behind was just as much of a death sentence as bringing him along, if just a  _little_  less.

"I  _can't_  let you get dragged into this," Hope said, moving behind his dad and tying his hands together behind his back. "I  _want_  to stay here. But there's  _no_  place for a l'Cie. I'm going with the others."

He moved in front of his dad again.

"We'll survive somehow. I promise you that. Dad…I hate to run out on you-"

"You're  _not_  running!"

Hope flinched from the outburst, and Bartholomew lowered his voice.

"This is  _not_  running away. You've made a  _choice_. You'll survive, and do what  _needs_  to be done."

"You mean…complete my Focus?"

He shook his head. "Don't you  _worry_  about that!  _You_  make the choice."

Hope surged forward and hugged his dad tightly, even if he was unable to return the favor. When he pulled away, he smiled to his father.

"Thanks, Dad."


	18. Skytanks and Parades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Ragnarok!" Vanille gasped.
> 
> Sai raised his eyebrows. Seriously? That looked nothing like the Ragnarok that they'd seen in their Focus vision. The only thing they got right was the fact that it was giant and it had a shade of red.

Snow was left coughing outside in the gas, holding his stomach. "Dammit."

An alarm went off, and as the smoke began to clear a Skytank was coming down, ready for a fight. The others came running up, passing Snow.

Lightning drew her gunblade. " _Our_  turn, hero."

"What? I can handle a little gas."

Hope stepped in front of him. "Catch your breath! I'll throw in some hits for you!"

"Aw, how our children grow up," Rei muttered.

"Can we acknowledge how nice this garden is?" Shu asked, before raising their arms and causing the plants to start growing into a large wall of greenery.

The Havoc Skytank brought out its Main Cannon, the large barrel coming out from the belly of the ship and then opening into a tripod of doom. It shot out a large blast, blowing up the area in the process, but Shu's plants took the grunt of the attack, sending burnt plants raining down around them.

"Mean!" Shu called.

The Main Cannon retracted, and the Turret Fire took over, the two turrets on the front of the ship firing nonstop and the hulls of the ship releasing Missile Barrages. The top of the ship shot out a pair of Plasma Blasters, hitting Fang and sending her flying up into the air.

Hope went to work getting Protect and Shell on everyone as they all split up to take different parts of the ship. Lightning and Rei each went to work firing their guns at the two turrets, Rei occasionally changing her weapon into a bow so that she could shoot damaging arrows.

Fang Provoked the tank and then went into Mediguard, taking the attacks much easier as well as drawing fire away from the others. Charon and Shu both launched themselves up to the Skytank itself, Charon Warp-Striking to one side of the hull and Shu having their plants throw them up to the other. They began hacking and slashing at the hulls, Shu at Portside (left side of the ship) and Charon at Starboard (right side of the ship).

The man in the Skytank, apparently, thought that there was no chance that they'd win, and continued shouting through the speakers under the assault.

" _Nowhere to run, l'Cie!_ " " _You are surrounded!_ " " _Surrender now!_ "

Rei pulled her two swords together as they charged up energy, before she released a large orb of power with a radius of about a foot at the Portside Turret, causing it to explode. The ship was knocked to the side from the explosion, throwing out Missile Barrages in retaliation. Shu, however, stabbed their sword into the open port where the missiles came from, causing the Portside Hull to go down as well in another blast.

Lightning was firing her gun at the Starboard Turret, while Fang had no choice but to throw Ruin spells when she was being offensive and turning to Sentinel occasionally when things got serious, and Hope alternated between healing and throwing his Ravager spells. Charon slammed his Wakizashi into the Starboard Hull, while Lightning fired a round of her bullets and the two managed to take down the Starboard side of the ship in one go.

Charon then Warp-Struck over to Shu, slipped an arm around their waist, and then warped them both down to the others. After the hulls and turrets were destroyed, the Havoc Skytank was already damaged, and it was only a matter of time before the combined attacks and spells of the group would bring the aircraft down.

In its final attempts to win, the Skytank readied its Main Cannon once more, firing off a blast that sent the l'Cie back and had the fal'Cie on the defense. And it didn't stop after one blast. It charged up another a few moments later, the l'Cie now prepared and it became a battle to see which team could kill the other first.

It was much easier to stagger the Skytank now, and with one stagger the game was over, and the group threw all they had into taking it down. In moments, the Skytank was overwhelmed and exploded, set ablaze as it sank down below the building.

Of course, immediately, another Skytank came soaring up in its place moments later.

"Seriously?!" Charon called.

"Shu, together!" Rei ordered.

They nodded. "Right!"

Shu held their blade towards the Skytank and Rei tossed her swords to either side, electricity charging up between the weapons as her two blades powered up Shu's. Their large sword began to hum with energy, before it released a large beam of energy, shooting right through the Skytank and causing it to instantly explode from the inside out.

"Why didn't you do that in the  _first_  place?" Charon asked.

"Why don't you use your Zanmato?" Shu asked. "Because its really…"

But Shu couldn't finish as they fell to their knees, Rei's blades dropping beside theirs as the energy faded away. Charon was instantly at Shu's side, catching them before they face-planted and lying them gently to the ground.

"It wears us both out," Rei panted, breathing hard. "Bit risky since it leaves us drained. Used that on Titan once. He was  _not_  a happy camper."

She wiped her hand under her nose, before looking down and realizing there was blood.

"Ah, crud."

"Is Shu gonna be okay?" Charon asked frantically.

"They'll survive. It hits them harder than it hits me, but they're tough. Just give them a little time to rest."

She sat down, lying her head on Shu's shoulder.

"I'll get back to you when the world stops spinning."

"At least you took it down," Hope said. "And you're both alive. I'd call that a victory."

Just as he said that, a third Skytank came flying over, moving their searchlights to the group, each of them putting their hands up to block their eyes.

" _Again?!_ " Fang demanded. "There's no  _end_  to these guys!"

Charon gently dropped Shu - and Rei - the rest of the way so that they were lying flat on the ground, putting his hand to his Zanmato.

"This is getting ridiculous!"

The Skytank came flying down, and Charon prepared to charge up his Zanmato, even with the risk of it going haywire or just not working at all since he wasn't at his strongest. Then, the beam from a Main Cannon came from the sky, striking the Skytank through and causing it to explode as well.

After bracing themselves from the blast, they looked over to where the attack had come from, only to see another Skytank coming in for a landing instead of readying for another attack. It pulled its Main Cannon in again, before lowering down to the front yard.

The four of them readied their weapons for an attack as the door opened an a troop of five soldiers came out, the one in the middle casually sauntering forward with his gun on his shoulder. The other four took up regular guarding positions, not looking ready for a fight, and the l'Cie cautiously braced themselves as the middle guy walked forward.

"Heya, Fang, Charon."

He pulled of his mask to reveal Rygdea, who chuckled and pointed back towards the ship.

"Need a ride?"

Fang scoffed, lowering her weapon and putting a hand on her hip. "Don't get cute."

"You're late," Charon deadpanned.

She waved the others forward. "Right, let's move it."

Hope and Lightning hesitantly lowered their weapons, Lightning following Fang forward onto the ship.

Snow came up from behind, coughing a bit, but still flashing Hope a smile and a thumbs up. The boy couldn't help but chuckle and nod, joining him as they walked after the girls.

"Okay, let's do this thing," Rei muttered, pulling herself to her feet with a grunt.

Charon gingerly grabbed Shu, allowing Rei to pull one of their arms over her shoulders and him to take the other. They moved their way over to the ship, passing Hope as he came to a stop and looked over his shoulder.

"Take care, Dad."

Boarding the ship and leaving Bartholomew in the hands of the Cavalry soldiers, they took off and left the Estheim residence, and Palumpolum.

_When it comes to home and family, we never keep either as close as we should. Who ever stops to think that this time could be the last?_

* * *

Sai, Vanille, and Sazh stepped off the boat with the other passengers and Sai paid to get into the amusement park.

"This is a big park," Sai muttered, looking to one of the maps. "I've been assigned here before, but that was a long time ago. It's gotten bigger."

He turned to see Vanille kneeling down, staring at the floor in deep thought.

Sazh kneeled down in front of her. "Seasick?"

"Nope, I'm fine," She said weakly, standing.

Sazh stood straight as well. "Okay then."

They walked forward, hearing a man announce, "The park is very crowded today, so please keep an eye on your children!"

Sai looked around, realizing just how many people were at the entrance alone. He wasn't really one to get out and come to places like this - considering he didn't have any kids or family members that he hung out with - but it was still a nice change of pace from all the fighting.

"We have a host of exciting new attractions under construction. If you'd like to experience them, be sure to come back soon."

"They are expanding this place like there's no tomorrow," Sai muttered.

"Hope we don't get separated!" Vanille said.

They had to take a detour to get around a crowd of people, and the workers scattered about continued to say greetings and announcements.

"Hello and welcome to Nautilus!" "We hope you have a pleasant day!" "Enjoy your stay in Nautilus, the entertainment capital of Cocoon!" "Welcome to Nautilus, the City of Dreams! We are at full capacity today, so please be mindful of your fellow visitors!" "The parade will be held along Main Street."

"Wow. There's  _so_  many people!" Vanille exclaimed.

" _Not_  a lot of security here," Sazh remarked.

"No kidding," Sai said. "For these people, the l'Cie panic must still seem like a world away."

"Oh, hey. Looks like they're putting Eidolons on parade," Sazh said, looking at one of the advertisement screens.

"And it's starting soon. What do you say? Let's go check it out."

"Sure!" Vanille exclaimed. "Huh?"

The screens with Nautilus amusements and announcements suddenly changed to a news screen.

" _We interrupt this program to bring you a breaking news update,_ " The woman announcer said. " _The l'Cie who surfaced in Palumpolum and attacked the city's citizens are still on the run from authorities._ "

The image showed Lightning, Hope, and Rei being surrounded by troops in a plaza, before switching to Snow coming out of a cloud of smoke and punching down soldiers. He then summoned Shiva to wreak havoc on the crowd, riding the motorcycle on the icy ramps created. A person that Sai didn't recognize went soaring around on a tidal wave of plants growing all around the ice, and another man was plowing through the troops on a Velocycle.

" _Sanctum soldiers are tracking their location, but have yet to engage the fugitives. The presence of hostages has been confirmed._ "

Then it showed Lightning cutting a path through the soldiers as Snow jumped on Gestalt Shiva a rode down the ice ramps created with Fang on behind her firing a commandeered gun while Snow drove.

At the sight of Fang, Vanille gasped, putting her hands to her mouth.

"What's wrong?" Sazh asked.

She lowered her hands, putting them together in front of her. "It's her!"

Sazh turned back to the screen, arms crossed. "Yep. Looks like the army finally found 'em."

"I doubt the army can stop them, though," Sai said, trying to sound grim in case anyone overheard him.

"Hostages?" A man near them was saying. "They should just blow 'em away with the l'Cie."

"They're all infected by Pulse, or  _something_ , by now anyway," A woman agreed.

"You'd be singing a different song if it were  _you_  out there with l'Cie," Sai muttered.

Sazh shuffled awkwardly and sighed. "The parade's about to start. Come on, let's go."

"Right," Sai nodded.

He put an arm over Vanille's shoulders and led her away with Sazh following behind.

"I'm sure everybody's fine, right?" Vanille asked.

"Rei's with them, and they seem to have some friends looking after them as well," Sai said. "I have no doubt they're gonna be okay."

"Hundred gil says we've got another Purge on our hands within a week." "The whole world's coming undone, and this is the best they can do?"

Sai was both relieved and confused how no one seemed to notice Sazh's brand peaking out from his shirt on his chest. Sai wasn't exactly in his fully battle armor either - just a thick military-style T-shirt, pants, and combat boots - his half of his brand completely exposed. He had his golden sword at his left hip and his silver at his right, though people must not have thought those were real or something, considering how they were in an amusement park.

Sai decided to take a page out of Hope's book and buy a olive-green scarf to wrap around his left forearm to cover the brand. It matched his shirt and went with his black pants and boots, so it would do. Rei's half of the brand was covered already by her cuff, and he couldn't help but think that Rei would love this place, coming to an amusement park. He had planned to eventually bring her here before the whole Purge thing.

They headed down a tunneled path, lights above them in a decorative fashion, that led to the pods that took people around the park. Vanille was following behind as cheerfully as she could, but she slowed and came to a stop, wringing her hands together in front of her nervously as she looked down.

"Hey, loosen up!" Sazh encouraged. "Gotta make the  _most_  of this! Right?"

She dropped her hands and nodded, but she couldn't get out more than a weak, "Uh-huh."

 _I knew we'd be saying goodbye soon. Better to do it with a smile_.

They continued forward and took one of the cool pods that led to the parade area.

"All right!" Sai shouted. "We're just in time!"

They joined the crowd all waiting for the show to begin.

The Pompa Sancta parade - a pageant commemorating the war between Cocoon and Pulse. Of course, they sugar coated the thing to be Cocoon bias so that Pulse looked like the evil ones, but really both sides had their flaws.

The show began and a clock hand ticked around to point at thirteen circles, causing them to spin and rotate. That was basically a countdown to how long until the show started. Everyone looked at the clock and excitedly waited as the seconds counted down.

"The show is starting," Sazh told Vanille. "Look."

Vanille couldn't help but smile at the concept of the show, and it was so dazzling that she looked up to the lights. Vanille was unfamiliar to Cocoon ways, so now she was going to see the Cocoon bias version of the story of the War of Transgression.

Sai hoped that the dazzling lights would be enough to keep her spirits up, or would the show make it worse?

Fountains of light burst as the show officially began, the crowing jumping up and down and cheering. Some glowing balloons in the air rained down a bunch of CD-like things for the crowd to catch, and Vanille smiled, jumping up to grab one. The disc began to glow before a Carbuncle flew out of it.

"It's party time, little lady!"

Vanille giggled, and Sazh looked over her shoulder just as the Carbuncle turned and flew off, all of the others flying around leaving trails of blue dust in their wake. The entire show was based on holograms up in the air, and so the Carbuncles all swirled around before gathering together in the center of the area. They then burst out in all directions, expanding a large, glowing, blue platform that acted as the stage.

In the center was a woman playing a harp - Siren - and out of the stage rose glowing blue actresses, representing the good of Cocoon. They danced around in the air as Siren played a gentle tune on her harp, the Carbuncles expanding the stage further and adding on a couple other smaller circles around the main one.

The music grew dramatic, and as the dancers rose high above the main stage, the lights began turning red, fiery circles expanding out into the watery blue like someone had dropped a few bombs of food coloring in. The fire expanded all across the stage until everything was red except the blue dancers. Now, red dancers emerged, one for every blue.

The stage pulsed, and the red dancers circled the center before it exploded outwards to reveal a giant beast, covered in flames, and the laughter of a small creature on its head sitting between where the two horns met. It didn't look very human, with its own little horns, sharp teeth and a mechanical-like jaw, and a cute little summoning staff.

"With Pulse-born spite, and savage might, I will  _destroy_  Cocoon!"

"That's Ifrit," Sai guessed.

Rei had showed him images of Eidolons while they had been living together, and Sai couldn't help but wonder what Rei would have to say about this rendition of the war.

Ifrit rose, taking a deep breath before he blew a stream of fire in a semicircle in front of him in a threatening way. Sai knew this was all made of light, but he was still afraid for a moment that the people underneath him were getting roasted.

"Here comes the attack from Pulse," Sazh reported.

The red dancers began to take over, spinning and waving their arms as the blue dancers began to die out, falling and dissolving into the air as wisps of blue before those disappeared as well. One by one, the blue dancers were all destroyed, representing the might of Pulse. Ifrit helped out a bit by blasting his stream of fire at some of the remaining dancers.

Once all of the blue Cocoon people were gone, some of the blue wisps left by them began to flow all together, the dust spinning and swirling to conglomerate high above the stage before forming a tornado that shot down and up forced Ifrit back.

In a flash of light, another summon appeared - Ramah, Sai guessed - with the summoner this time in their hand and looking a lot more human in a gold and white outfit, a fancy summoner's mask mimicking his summon, and a glowing spear-like summoning staff that matched his attire.

"With trusty blade and fal'Cie's aid, I will  _defend_  Cocoon!"

"Who knew summoners could rap so well?" Sai muttered.

Ramah held out his staff, lightning building up and the swirl of clouds around him fading away. Ifrit and Ramah both reared back their attacks before Ifrit's fiery fist met Ramah's sparking staff.

"To battle!" The Cocoon summoner shouted.

While the two Eidolons duked it out, the two summoners both jumped up into the air to clash as well.

"You  _dare_  oppose  _me?!_ " The Pulse summoner shouted.

The two clashed a couple times, the energies of their summons swirling around them - storm and fire alike - before each struck hard enough that both of them were sent flying away from each other.

"I  _will_  fulfill my Focus!"

The fire from his summon began to conglomerate around the Pulsian summoner. Ifrit himself disappeared to transform into the fiery energy needed to cause an orb of the energy to expand, growing larger and larger, while the Cocoon summoner was tossed a good distance away, Ramah disappearing.

The flaming orb began to grow larger and larger, before it became unstable and then pulsed, the fires dying out and the orb fading away to reveal a winged creature that Sai honestly didn't recognize.

"Ragnarok!" Vanille gasped.

Sai raised his eyebrows. Seriously? That looked  _nothing_  like the Ragnarok that they'd seen in their Focus vision. The only thing they got right was the fact that it was giant and it had a shade of red.

The Cocoon summoner, meanwhile, gathered his energy, pulling his arms and legs together before throwing them out.

"Fal'Cie, grant me strength!"

He transformed into a large beast that could only be described as Valefor. It flew forward to attack as 'Ragnarok' expanded his wings and streams of fire exploded outwards from its body to attack. Valefor flew skillfully through the air and avoided the attacks, flying up to 'Ragnarok' as energy build up along its wings.

The two flying monsters opened their mouths for one final battle cry before they clashed in the air, rings of energy shooting around before a green orb of energy exploded outwards from the impact, turning everything white.

As the light faded, crystal fragments of light rained down upon the cheering crowd, the green orb remaining frozen where the battle had ended. Sazh put his arms out and looked at the cool fragments in awe, but Sai saw Vanille was the only one not smiling.

_Sometimes I had to wonder: could our deaths have brought back peace?_

"Vanille?"

A tear streamed down her face, no one but Sai noticing.

"Come on," Sai said. "Let's get out of here before we get stuck in the crowds."

Vanille only nodded, and Sazh looked over in question before Sai dragged him and Vanille out of the area.

* * *

_"So, what's it like, being a fal'Cie?"_

_Rei put her hand to her chin. "How to really describe it_ _…? To be honest, I'm not like other fal'Cie of my kind. I've never really understood why, nor do I understand what my purpose really is."_

_"What do you do?"_

_"Nothing, really. Back home, I would always just hang out with this friend of mine."_

_"Disguised as humans?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Well, that outfit's a bit out of date. These days, there aren't really many hunters out there unless people are just dressing up for fun."_

_"What might you suggest for proper attire?"_

_He looked to the side in thought, before hopping off the bed and grabbing some books. "You can look through some of these for modern styles. I don't have any magazines, since I don't do that type of thing, but here are some of my training manuals for my job."_

_"Your job?"_

_"I'm a Sergeant in the Guardian Corps."_

_"Guardian Corps?"_

_"One of the two branches of the military?"_

_She still looked confused, but nodded. "Right."_

_"Okay, be honest with me. Where are you_ really _from?"_

_"I-I'm from the woods. You_ _…you people have tried to wipe us out for your big cities for centuries, and that's why I'm not cultured on your ways."_

_"You said you've been asleep."_

_"Yes! I_ _…I have. Been. Another reason why I do not understand much of this society. I don't know why, but I remember falling asleep and then waking up to find that the village I guarded, as a fal'Cie, was gone, and I was extremely weak."_

_"Do you know how_ long _you've been asleep?"_

_"Not a clue. But a long time, seeing how weak I am."_

_He shrugged. "Well, your outfit backs that theory. How about you look around in those books for a proper outfit. Oh, here."_

_He went over to the desk next to the bed and pulled out a flat electronic contraption._

_"This is a tablet. It'll allow you to search the internet by tapping this icon to open to the search bar. Just spell out the thing you want information on, and this'll search all the web to give you the best information it can. Sometimes you won't always get what you want on the first try, but that's why there are options. And here's the image button to get pictures if you're looking for a specific type of outfit."_

_She blinked, staring at the contraption before tapping the rectangle and having another large rectangle full of smaller cubes in it appear._

_"Just type in what you need and press that button with the arrow to look it up. I'm gonna head to the store and get some food. I'll be back."_

_Rei had no idea what a 'store' was, but apparently you could get food from there, so she understood the basics._

_"Okay."_

_Sai nodded with a small smile and headed out, giving one last look towards the fal'Cie - who was mesmerized by the electronic device. He chuckled lightly, before hurrying out, unsure whether leaving her alone was the best idea, but he wasn't someone to ask about fashion advice._

* * *

_"Hey! I'm back!"_

_He went to the kitchen and dropped off the bags before heading to the bedroom again. Rei wasn't on the bed where he'd left her, but she'd left dozens of books scattered about, and seemingly had a ton of tabs open on the tablet showing different outfits._

_It occurred to Sai that she might not be able to read, but the military manual had labeled certain equipment, and so she had started there, before looking up things in the books that she'd been reading, seeing the symbols that were letters and then just replicating them into the search bar. He was a bit impressed, but then again, Rei was a fal'Cie, and so her ability wasn't to be underestimated._

_"Rei?" He called._

_"I'm in here!" She called from the bathroom. "This was the only place with a reflective surface I could see myself clearly in. Is this frozen water?"_

_He chuckled. "No, it's a mirror. It's made from many layers of reflective stuff that become thick enough to make a clear reflection. You choose an outfit?"_

_"I think I've got one."_

_When she walked out, she was in something that he hadn't expected. She was wearing a kind of old-fashion Greco-Roman warrior outfit, one that might be seen in some kind of history book, but certainly not in the current era ( **AN: it's her current outfit; check first chapter for description** ). But she looked bad-ass in it, Sai had to admit._

_She tapped her foot to the floor. "These boots were from your 'Manuel' thing-"_

_"Manual."_

_"-and I found they were quite useful. The rest of it_ _…not really. Of course, I found an outfit like this, and knew that it was perfect. Unisexual, maneuverable, as well as protective and to my liking. And it fits in with your world's style, no?"_

_"Uh…I mean_ _…kinda? It's from a fictional book. People don't really dress like that unless they're going to some kind of dress-up convention, or something. You might be able to pass it off as some kind of soldier uniform, but you're not a soldier, and you can't just wear that anywhere you want."_

_"Then I will become a soldier. You are one, no? Then allow me to join your ranks."_

_"Uh_ _…I'll see what I can do. But I'll help you find an outfit for casual stuff, something that you can wear around anywhere on Cocoon and you'll fit in just fine. Something for when you're off the clock. Where did you even get the outfit, anyway? I know I don't have anything like that in my closet."_

_"I can manipulate and create my outfits. Finding the outfit that I wished to wear was the hardest trial I faced. Once I had what I wanted in mind, I just needed to concentrate, put it on, and fix any minor details that I missed."_

_"Well, if you're gonna go out into the world, we should_ _work on your name. Humans don't have names like Hotareichan, so we're gonna have to come up with something different."_

_"What's your name again?"_

_"Hui Ken Sai. My mom wanted me to have a piece of her entire family's name, so she gave me both of my grandparents names and then my dad's name. I never liked being called 'Hui,' since that's my grandmother's name - a girl's name; she'd thought I was gonna be a girl but said that Hui worked as a guy's name too - and Sai was my dad's name, sounds more exotic. So I took up the name Sai instead. Technically, my last name's Yama, but semantics."_

_"So I should attempt to split my name like yours? That would name me Hota Rei Chan."_

_"Let's go with Hotaru Rei Chan. And you can still go by Rei."_

_She smiled. "Then that is settled. Now, how would you improve my current outfit to be more_ _…normal?"_

_He grabbed the tablet and closed the tabs to begin again. "Well, we can start by giving you just a normal shirt like…this maybe. And then some jeans like…this. Maybe a jacket would look okay, and just some regular shoes like_ _…this."_

_He pulled up images of what he could imagine her in. With a few explanations to clarify things, she tried transforming into the outfit. It was just a simple dark purple T-shirt, thick combat pants, boots, and a military style olive-green trench coat, but she looked like a tough 'Don't mess with me' girl that would fit in nicely on Cocoon._

_"You can also choose between that jacket and one more like this."_

_He showed her a smaller coat, still of the same fabric and color, but shorter, only going down to her hips and less military trench coat and more just regular autumn jacket. Her coat began to shrink down to the one he was showing her, and she looked a little less intimidating._

_"Nice," He commented._

_"Thank you."_

_"Well, I'll go see if I can't sign you up tomorrow, but for now, how about dinner?"_

_She smiled and nodded. "Sure."_


	19. Nightmares in the City of Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Look at these woolly little things! I just wanna squeeze 'em till they pop!"

" _Where to next, little lady?_ " Sazh asked in a high-pitched voice, before he coughed/chuckled, unable to sustain the voice.

Sai had grabbed a brochure with a list and description of the attractions, but he couldn't help but wish that Rei was there with them. He didn't really want to go anywhere, experience this place for the first time, without having her there to share the excitement.

Beside him, Vanille sat on the bench with her head down. She chuckled weakly, putting on her smile for Sazh. "I'll let  _you_  decide."

 _Just_ _…keep on smiling_.

"I've never really thought about coming here before," Sai admitted. "Now that I'm here, I don't really have an idea of where to go. Sazh?"

Sazh turned, putting his hand to his forehead in thought, before turning back with a finger up with an idea. "I know! A Nautilus Park date." He put his hands to his hips like he was doing an advertisement. "With Sazh."

"Buy me a drink first," Sai joked. "Well, I'm up for it. Why not?"

Vanille put her hands together in her lap. "Yeah, but should we  _really_  be playing around?"

"Forget about that heavy stuff for a while," Sazh said, before jabbing a thumb as his brand, "and maybe this'll just…fade away."

She continued mustering her smile and nodded. "Okay!"

"Great! Let's  _roll._ "

But even Sai could see that she was strained, her smile very weak, and disappearing the moment she thought no one was looking. There were times when Sai had seen that look on Rei, and he knew that she had it tough - waking up to find that she was in a foreign land and her home, everything she'd ever known, was most likely long gone. Everything just wiped away, trapped in a new reality.

He'd tried his best to look out for her, to make her smile. He hoped that she was okay. She'd gone off to keep Hope and Lightning from going off the rails, and Sai had convinced himself that letting her go was the right decision - or at least the smart one, but now that he was here, all he could do was regret it.

"So…this is the City of Dreams?" Vanille asked as they walked through the streets. "I feel like I'm dreaming. Isn't it beautiful?"

"It is  _indeed_  impressive," Sai admitted.

People were standing, walking, and running around, children seemingly jacked up on sugar and excitement. It was night time, so the lights around the park were brilliant against the night sky, and the buildings themselves seemed to glow.

"What's in Nautilus Park, anyway?" Vanille asked.

"It's a  _huge_  amusement park, built by the Sanctum," Sazh explained. "Bet they never expected l'Cie visitors."

"So, is this place… _special?_ "

"I promised Dajh…I was gonna bring him someday. Hope I can at least  _tell_  him about it."

"You'll get the chance," Sai assured him.

"Maybe. I  _do_  know where they're keeping him."

"Can we come with you?!" Vanille asked cheerfully.

Sazh chuckled and spread his arms. "Sure! More the merrier. What about you guys? You got someone special out there?"

"Special? Nope," Vanille answered quickly with a small chuckle.

Sazh scoffed. "Really? Now  _that_  is kinda sad."

She kneeled and muttered a sad, "Yeah…"

"Hey, I'm kidding!" Sazh said quickly, before rubbing the back of his head. "I didn't mean to…u-upset you."

Vanille stood back up abruptly, putting her hands to her hips. "Well, I'm just  _fine_ , thank you!"

 _I wanted to tell him everything. But I couldn't. Not until the time was right_.

"What about you, Sai?"

"Rei," Sai answered. "I think."

"You think?"

"It's complicated. I mean, she's a fal'Cie. I…I'm not really sure if I live up to her standards."

"What'da ya mean? I saw the way you two acted with each other, the way she looked at you. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're doing just fine."

"Yeah, but…I mean…one way or another, I'm gonna age and die, and she's…not. And now, with this whole l'Cie thing…we were never going to have a normal life together like we'd hoped. Even without the Purge screwing things up…it can't last forever."

Sazh scratched the back of his head again in embarrassment. "Well…everything comes to an end. They key to living happily is living in the moment, cherish the time you have and don't focus on worrying when it's gonna end. Sure, things are down in the dumpster, but you've still got time. Don't waste the seconds you have to be happy worrying about the future. Give yourselves some good memories to hold onto once things  _do_  fall apart."

Sai paused in thought, looking to the towering buildings and the lit up sky. He let out a small smile. "I guess you're right."

They continued down the path to the elevators once more, before Vanille got distracted by some fuzzy sheep along the path. "Ooo!"

She was instantly rushing over to them, and Sai chuckled as he kneeled down to one. It made a small mooing sound, but it didn't seem shy around people. Considering they were just sitting in place with all of the visitors allowed to freely pet them without any pens, they must've been really well trained and used to this sort of thing.

"Oh, they're so  _tiny!_ " Vanille exclaimed. "Are we allowed to pet 'em?"

"I think that's what they're there for," Sai said, and she eagerly kneeled down to pet one that bleated at her.

"Look at these woolly little things! I just wanna  _squeeze_  'em till they pop!"

"Last call for Nautilift passengers bound for Nautilus Park," An attendant called.

"Oh, so that thing's called a Nautilift?" Sai muttered. "How original. Let's go, before we miss our ride."

* * *

_Rei was confused._

_How was putting her in a battle arena with a bunch of other people charging at her a challenge of some sort? Maybe things were much easier on Cocoon than they were on Pulse, but she hadn't expected things to be so_ _…lackluster._

_She tossed a man over her shoulder across the arena with one hand, sidestepping a punch from a second guy and kneeing him in the gut before kicking him away. She ducked under a couple swings from a third guy, this time just holding her hands together behind her back to not use them and actually challenge herself. She spun around and kicked the man's spine hard enough to knock him to the ground, before bending back to avoid another punch to the face and jumping into a backflip that allowed her to kick him in the jaw and send him to the grass as well._

_After that, they had her shooting guns at targets moving very slow in her opinion, and when they finally sped up to more her style, there weren't nearly enough to keep her entertained. She was tested in combat with all kinds of weapons, swords long and short, light and heavy, guns ranging from handguns to bazookas to sniper rifles, whips, maces, bow staffs, bow and arrows, knives - close quarters striking as well as throwing them - and even just telling her to improvise with what she had (she dug her hand into the ground and used the dirt and rocks as a weapon as well)._

_Eventually, they had her in a training mission against some wild animals that they had captured specifically for that purpose, and she passed with flying colors no matter how tough the species. They tested her with Grav-Cons and AMP technology of all sorts._

_Rei had to admit that creating technology that could mimic spellwork was impressive, although the casting speed and efficiency was disappointing._

_"We'll, uh, see what we can do about you, Miss Chan," The man who Sai called 'Lieutenant Amodar' said. "You can pack it up and go home for today, but we'll get back to you by tomorrow."_

_She bowed her head just slightly. Sai had explained that the full-blown 90 degree at the waist bow was a little too much, and that she should be going about a sixth of the distance she had been going. She was working on it._

_"Thank you."_

_She turned and walked over to join Sai, who was giving her a big smile. "You did great!"_

_"That seemed far too easy. Were those merely the preliminary tests?"_

_"Dude, you went through more tests in one day than_ anyone _goes through. You did so well that they did more tests than planned, and I think you passed with flying colors."_

_"I didn't flash any colors through the sky."_

_He rolled his eyes but just chuckled. "It's just an expression meaning you did excellent."_

_"Cocoon must be lacking in skill these days."_

_"I know you're a fal'Cie, but did hunters or something really fight that well?"_

_"Not all that I know of, but a good deal did know how to handle their own at the very least. The hunters of my time would have struggled with these guns, however the other weapons are very basic, and there were people that wielded at least one of them if you were to look hard enough. The technology has indeed advanced, though the basic purposes remain the same."_

_"Well, since we still have time today - since you finished all those tests faster than one person can take to complete maybe a quarter of them - how about I take you to see the city?"_

_"I would enjoy that."_

_"Great. You're gonna have to change to your causal outfit."_

_She nodded and allowed her outfit to shift._

_"Try not to do that in public where too many people can see you. People aren't able to do that, and though some might think it's some cool new technology, you're gonna have to be careful if you don't want people knowing you're a fal'Cie and drawing attention to yourself."_

_"I understand that I am within enemy territory. At any point, I might be caught by someone less friendly than you."_

_"Enemy territory?"_

_"You_ _…your people cannot like mine, correct? You've worked to wipe us off the planet in favor of your_ _…societies, for centuries. Now that it appears you have done so, my people must be fugitives of some sort, correct?"_

_He shrugged. "No, not really. Most people probably haven't even heard of you. I just worry that the other Cocoon fal'Cie might catch you and take you in for being different, that's all."_

_She seemed surprised, as though that thought had just occurred to her._ _"Yes, right. That is_ _…something that should be very concerning."_

_"Just don't draw attention to yourself and you'll be fine. The fal'Cie are everywhere, but that doesn't mean that they're constantly stalking every person."_

_"How many Cocoon fal'Cie_ are _there?"_

_"Countless, but nothing to be too concerned about. Come on. I'll take you shopping."_

_He led her to the main city of Bodhum, where there were many tall buildings and way more people than down near the beach where he lived. It was a busy afternoon, people milling about the streets, going shopping, hanging out at public centers, kids at playgrounds, and plenty of advertisements all around._

_Rei was beginning to learn what the symbols meant, figuring out the patterns and remembering the shapes. She practicing reading every sign they passed, sometimes asking Sai for help. She attempted to avoid hitting people in the busy shopping center that he'd taken her to, but failed as the streets got even busier during rush hour._

_"Kids are getting off a school and parents are getting off of work," Sai explained. "Younger kids love to come here during their free time, and drag their parents along consequentially. The older kids are always coming here too, but they hang out a further distance away over in the older parts."_

_"What makes being trapped in large, confining crowds amusing?"_

_He shrugged. "I guess people like being surrounded by others. Makes them feel like they fit in with the crowd. Besides, there are plenty of entertaining things that people do to keep the crowds entertained. Let's go into this shop. I bet you'll like it."_

_He took her into a large store, one that seemed to be two stories. It had numerous different things, from appliances, to clothing, to toys and games, to makeup, to food, to books, to electronics and random useful things for all different purposes._

_Rei got distracted by basically everything they passed, either asking what something was or trying to figure it out on her own. In the end, the trip turned into more of a teaching experience than anything else, though there were a_ few _things that Sai insisted that they get for Rei so that she could stay entertained or learn more about something later._

_"I don't understand how your currency merely travels through numbers rather than physical objects," Rei said as they left with a bag in hand. "What if one changes the amount? It seems very flawed and vulnerable to cheating."_

_"Maybe, but we have advanced technology and rely on people's integrity. A good deal of the time, it pays off. If there_ is _a bad apple out there, we usually find it and stop them."_

_"The trust you put in your society these days is astounding. Considering how lazy the society seems. Back home, we relied on the people around us for survival. We were a tight-nit group because we had to be. Our bonds were like family. Your society is so big and so_ _…separated. It seems to be more 'to each their own' than anything else."_

_"I'll admit, we_ are _a bit flawed in that respect. But there are good people out there, even if there are bad."_

_"Yes, like you. You have taken me in and looked after me with no reward expected."_

_"You're company's payment enough. I lived alone before you, and you keep things interesting."_

_"I should be returning home once I'm strong enough."_

_"You can't go back in time, can you?"_

_"Oh…yes. Right. But_ _…I really should leave you soon. I put you in danger by being by your side."_

_"Look, I don't care if you're from Pulse. You can stay as long as you want. It's not like you're sabotaging me or abusing my charity. As far as I'm concerned, you're not any problem. If you don't want to leave, then don't. It's your decision. Don't be influenced by any of that heavy stuff and just do what_ you _want."_

_She blinked at him in surprise, before looking down and staying silent the entire way back to his house._

_"You can just put the stuff over there and we can go through them later. You ever had noodles before?"_

_"Noodles?"_

_"Pasta. I'll take that as a no. I'll make some tonight and you can see if you like them."_

_She nodded and quietly sat at the table as he began cooking._

_"Sai?"_

_"Hm?"_

_"What if_ _…what if I_ was _from Pulse? Would that make me really bad?"_

_He shrugged. "The government tells us all these bad things about Pulse, but I don't really believe much of it. All I ever hear is that they're threatening us every day. Sure, when I was younger maybe I would be a bit scared, wondering if one day everything would change. But nothing ever happens. There are never any reports of any small scale attacks, or attacks far away, or even announcements that the government is going to send people to Pulse to try and stop anything. It all just seems like a story that the government's telling the world to make sure we're scared of the skeletons in the closet. It's no better than a parent telling their child a scary story so that they make sure to try and be good."_

_"So_ _…do other people believe them?"_

_He scoffed. "Basically the rest of the world. There are skeptics, but no one wants to speak too loudly for fear that everyone turns against them. The world is enslaved by this fear. I keep my thoughts to myself, and I'll keep an open mind for if Pulse ever_ does _attack, but if I ever have kids, I wanna make sure that they know what world they're walking into."_

_"If you ever have kids?"_

_"I'm not_ that _old, ya know?"_

_"I know! I know. I wasn't implying that. You just don't seem like the kind of person to ever have kids. I can't imagine you married to someone."_

_"Neither can I, but you never know. I once thought that I'd shoot for the stars and be a high-up official in the government one day, but here I am. I'm satisfied with being in the army, staying here in Bodhum. I don't really want anything more. What about you? Any goals you've ever had?"_

_She shook her head. "Not really. I've never really had a path in life. I just go where time takes me. I_ have _wondered before, but I always brush it aside and live in the moment."_

_"Well, now that you're here, on Cocoon, got any idea what you wanna do?"_

_"At the moment, no. I do like this town, this city. I might as well stay here for the time being."_

_"You can always stay at my place. Like I said, I enjoy the company. Besides, not everyday you meet a peaceful Pulse fal'Cie."_

_"Yeah_ _…wait, what?"_

_"It's okay. I told you, you're not hostile, and I don't hate Pulse. You're secret's safe with me. We're gonna have to be extra careful, but it's not like things are really gonna change because of this revelation. You're still free to stay as long as you like, and I'm gonna keep you safe and help you adjust until you do."_

_Rei was rendered speechless. He just brushed off everything like it was nothing. To her, the war had felt like yesterday, the hatred and fear, the rage and unforgiving loathing. Cocoon's people had been enemies for a long time, all because they forgot that they had once_ come _from Pulse, and she had grown accustomed to the unwavering loyalties to war. Sai was a very unique person, indeed._

_"I_ _…thank you."_

_"No problem. Now, you wanna learn how to cook spaghetti?"_

* * *

When they came out of the Nautilift (Sai still couldn't believe that was it's name), they walked down a small path that seemed to be one of many, other Nautilifts leading to other places, some of which weren't even prepared yet and were blocked off.

"Oh, I thought I smelled something!" Vanille exclaimed. "That's chocobo, isn't it?"

They walked forward to find the area surrounded by chocobos and fuzzy sheep, along with balloons, flickering lights, holographic advertisements floating around in the air, and a stand selling stuffed animals.

"Oh!" Vanille exclaimed.

Sazh's chocobo chick seemed just as excited, flying around and chirping happily.

She jumped up and down on Vanille's shoulder and Sazh chuckled. " _Somebody's_  excited."

"Yeah," Vanille agreed. "Hey! You can make some new friends!"

"Dajh is  _crazy_  about chocobos. He  _really_  wanted to come here."

"Well, let's look around," Sai suggested.

"Indeed. And  _in_  we go!"

They went around, Vanille sprinting towards every cute thing she saw - aka  _everything_  they passed.

"Wow, the toy looks  _just_  like the real thing!" "Hey, I saw this one at the parade!" "Hello! How are you doing?" "They look like they're all buddies, huh?" "They seem so gentle. Look at those big, curly eyelashes!"

Sai couldn't help but buy a Carbuncle, one of the big ones and one of the small, along with one on a keychain. He knew that Rei would like them. She liked basically every stuffed animal she encountered - as their shopping trips had proven. It took her ages to narrow down her choices to the ones she wanted on their first trip, and though she was hesitant about asking for it, Sai insisted. After that, the floodgates had opened, and the guest room - which had turned into  _her_  room - was filled with stuffed animals of all kind - big and small versions, since Rei was like a completions and had to have at least one of each. A Carbuncle from Nautilus would fit in perfectly with the collection of moogles, chocobos, cactuars and more.

They passed a couple chocobos and fuzzy sheep as they made their way down to the main area. Though it was called a park, it was more like a petting zoo, as others were crowding around the animals - who didn't seem shy when it came to the crowds. Sai worried they were overwhelmed, but they seemed content.

Sazh exclaimed in disgust and held his nose. "Ugh! Whoo! The smell…uh. Glad  _I_  don't work here."

Vanille, meanwhile, took a step forward and spread her arms, taking a deep breath of the place and sighing in delight. The little chocobo chick was flying beside her, doing the same as it chirped in happiness as well.

 _The smell reminded me of home. The wilderness of Pulse_.

The chocobo chick flew around, tweeting happily as it did flips in the air, before beginning to fly off.

"Hey!" Sazh called. "Come  _back_  here!"

But the chick didn't listen, and she flew off around the park.

"Follow that fugitive fledgling!" Sai announced. "Wow, never thought I'd ever say  _that_  in my life."

They found the chick in a large gathering of fuzzy sheep, another of the stands selling merchandise, the cool fountain, and finally found it playing around with a group of grown chocobos. She seemed to have rallied them all behind her, because as she chirped and flew off, the other chocobos all followed like they were following orders.

The three l'Cie hurried after the chocobo brigade into the next section that led further into the park and out of the petting zoo area. There, the little chick was flying around with all of her new friends.

Sai chuckled. "Part of the gang already."

"Um-hm," Sazh agreed. " _Always_  good to be among friends."

Vanille walked up and petted the larger chocobo's neck, resting her head against it. "The fun times are  _doubled_ , and your worries feel  _far_  away."

"And nothing  _ever_  seems as scary when you have someone to share it with."

She nodded, continuing to pet the chocobo. "Yep."

Sai chuckled, and Sazh looked up in surprise as his little chick came flying back to him and hopped back into his hair.

He smiled in satisfaction, and Vanille giggled. " _You're_  still number one. Of  _course!_ "

"Of  _course!_ " He agreed.

He sighed and looked over to the chocobos mingling, one cawing up into the air. "Thanks, you two. Now when I see Dajh, I can tell him about the chocobos."

He took a few steps towards the chocobos, a sad look on his face.

"He's being held by the military."

"PSICOM…you mean?" Vanille asked as the chocobo she was by starting lightly nudging her shoulder and hair with its beak.

She reached her arm up to pet it, and it closed its eyes as she scratched its soft feathers.

"Yeah, since he's a Cocoon l'Cie," Sazh continued. "They're running tests. They're trying to figure out his Focus."

Vanille looked down, her hand falling from the chocobo beside her.

"I'm…turning myself in."

"Huh?" Vanille exclaimed.

"I know they execute l'Cie, but…hey. They're not  _total_  monsters. They'll listen to a final request. They'll  _have_ to. Before the end, I wanna talk to Dajh one last time. I want to…tell him about these chocobos. I wanna tell him about everything I've seen."

"But wait!" Vanille protested.

"Sazh…" Sai began stepping forward.

"Listen, I don't want you to worry. You're not part of this. You'll have plenty of time to split before I surrender."

Vanille scoffed. "That's  _not_  what I  _meant!_ "

Sazh sighed and turned away. "I'm sorry, guys. I'm just…I'm tired of all this running."

Vanille took a step back, trying to figure out what to say. "But…you  _can't!_ "

She desperately surged forward again.

"What about  _Dajh?!_  He's a l'Cie because of someone from Pulse! You can't give up without getting revenge!"

She hesitated a moment, before deciding she was desperate and grabbing his jacket.

"I know who it is!" She blurted. "I know who's responsible! For the  _accident_. The accident…at Euride."

Sazh's eyes widened and he took her by the shoulders. "Then tell me!"

Vanille now looked hesitant, looking up at him slowly before beginning to back away. "The l'Cie who ruined your life was…"

Their attention was taken from Vanille as the chocobos began to stampede out of the area, just avoiding gunfire as it hit the ground at their feet. Sazh and Vanille exclaimed in surprise as a chocobo nearly ran them down, and Sai pulled them out of the way as a round of bullets shot up dirt at their feet where they'd been standing.

Looking around, they spotted soldiers taking cover in the hills around the attraction now that they'd been seen.

" _Soldiers?_ " Sazh exclaimed, drawing his pistols. "Where'd they  _come from?!_ "

"Get out of here, Vanille!" Sai shouted, drawing his silver blade at his right hip and flicking it as it transformed into a gun.

He and Sazh shot some cover fire behind them as they quickly retreated through the exit of the place. Vanille was sprinting ahead blindly, unsure of where she was going, but running across the bridge before stopping as the boys caught up, only to be faced with a platoon of soldiers. Behind them, the drawbridge was raised, blocking the way back.

"No place left to run," Sazh muttered.

Sai flicked his weapon back into a sword and Sazh opened up with Blitz of gunfire at the Corps Gunners standing in their way. Vanille drew her rod and threw a Fira spell, burning the men within the area that got him into a crisp, and Sai ran up to give his own Blitz to the next group of them.

They cleared out the immediate area, seeing no way but forward through the glowing park, the moon and the roller-coaster in the distance. They faced off with the soldiers, who brought along some Orions and Zwerg Metrodroids to help them out, making their way forward through the corridor of a park and being forced only one way.

"If we surrender, they'll kill us!" Vanille shouted.

"You can't turn yourself in, now, Sazh," Sai agreed. "Sorry, but surrendering now won't get you that last request. We get out of here again, then you can go and turn yourself in to some soldier, but now isn't the best time!"

"We're  _always_  going to be on the run," Vanille pointed out. "We're l'Cie!"

They ran through the park, facing off with more Orions and Zwerg Metrodroids, before they finally made it to the plaza in front of the fancy clock tower. Sai worried about what they were going to do once inside, as there wasn't another exit to his knowledge, but his thoughts were interrupted when they saw the giant robot coming their way.

It rolled forward on four legs, looking like it was based on some kind of beetle, but it was heavily armored and loaded with lasers and guns.

"Think I'm going down that easy?!" Sazh shouted, his pistols already drawn.

The Midlight Reaper rolled up to them and unleashed Nerve Gas, causing the three of the to be poisoned. Sazh quickly began throwing buffs, getting Haste, Bravery, Faith, Vigilance, and Enfrost, while Vanille healed the Poison with Esuna and Sai began throwing debuffs, throwing all he had first to see what it was immune to. He cast Deshell, Poison, and Imperil.

Imperil hit first, with a little assistance from Vanille, and the Reaper retaliated by shooting blasts from the four smaller guns near the top at Sai. Vanille healed the damage while Sazh began attacking, firing his pistols and throwing a Ruin spell or two, while Sai began throwing spells to experiment with what it was weak to.

Vanille and Sazh joined in with the spell casting once the stagger gauge was stable enough. Fire and ice seemed to be doing pretty well. Once it was staggered, Vanille went to throwing Fira spells while Sazh began to fire his guns and Sai ran up to slash at the machine physically. He wasn't able to launch the thing, and so it was still able to continue firing its guns even as they unleashed their attacks.

As the stagger came to an end, the thing still had a decent chunk of health left, and then it began to glow, using Release Arms Restraints and Priming Main Cannon. It took up a defensive stance and the three of them began preparing once more, Sazh renewing his buffs while Vanille and Sai began throwing their debuffs in the hopes that they might hit. Imperil was the easiest, but it had a lot of resistance to Deprotect and Deshell, and Poison was a losing battle.

They managed to get on Deshell before they switched offensive and began attacking and building up another quick stagger. The Main Cannon Primed began, but before it could use its Railgun attack, they interrupted with their attacks and the stagger working against the Reaper. Vanille tossed an Aerora and managed to launch the Reaper just slightly up, and they continued throwing their attacks quickly, knowing that they needed to hurry and get out of there.

The Reaper didn't stand a chance after that, and as Sai threw his sword at the core, the machine exploded. When the dust settled, all that was left was a smoking, sparking husk of the Midlight Reaper and a panting group of l'Cie. Sai went over and recovered his sword before retuning to Vanille and Sazh, who were hunched over, hands on their knees, breathing hard.

"We should get going," Sai said.

The chocobo chick suddenly popped out, chirping to draw their attention before they looked up and saw a little boy standing at the entrance to the clock tower.

He turned around, raising a finger to point at Sazh. "Daddy, I found you!"

"Huh?!" Sazh gasped, his exhaustion forgotten.

Vanille exclaimed in surprise, her hand going to her mouth in shock, while Sai watched as the little boy ran up, seeing the definite resemblance between Dajh and his father.

Dajh ran up and grabbed his surprised dad in a tight hug. "Daddy! Got you!"

"Dajh, why are you here?"

The little boy pulled back as the chocobo chick rested in his hair and he smiled up to his father. "Because you promised!"

Sazh kneeled down to him. "But…how did you get here?"

He reached out gently in shock to his son who smiled at him, giggling. Sazh broke out into a relieved smile, which then turned to confusion again as Dajh began to shimmer with a blue aura. The aura exploded outwards, sending Sazh back and the chocobo chick away as Dajh was suddenly encased in a crystal, rising up as Sazh scrambled to reach for him.

"Dajh! Wait! Come back!"

The clock tower, perhaps ironically, began to chime with loud church bells eight times, as though signaling Dajh's time with his father had come to an end. As Dajh's crystal fell back down to the ground and the light began to fade away, Sazh moved forward to see his son frozen in time, still smiling up as he had been.


	20. Sugar and Rainbows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I am the jungle, woman! My plants and my hair have the right to grow free!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, the feels! This part of the game!
> 
> First they kill you with the whole Hope and Snow thing - a little bit of Lightning in there too, and then they bring you back from the dead with the Nautilus stuff only to kill you again with this!
> 
> These chapters are some of the main reasons I love the game, people.
> 
> Very sloppy chapter and written quickly, but school is merciless and my muse is barely hanging on. Didn't mean for such a long chapter, but that's just how I am. Hope you can forgive me. :)

"Dajh…"

He reached out to touch the crystal, but it was solid all the way through and he gasped, looking to his hand in disbelief.

"Not you…not you, Dajh!"

He pounded his fists to the ground, Vanille and Sai looking onto the sad scene, helpless to do anything else for Sazh.

A troop of soldiers began walking out of the clock tower entrance where Dajh had come from, led by a woman with long blonde hair that went down to mid-thigh, academic glasses that covering her olive green eyes, and a baton that Sai recognized was primarily used for fencing in her hand.

Jihl Nabaat, Sai recognized. She was well known as one of the best in the Sanctum, trumping even Yaag Rosch - who's known to be quite bitter about being her second.

"The capture of undesirables," She said, a hand on her hip and the other holding her baton against her side. "It seems  _that_  was your son's Focus."

She began to circle them, tapping her baton on her hand.

"Dajh fulfilled it admirably, and served Cocoon in the process. You should be  _proud_  of him. Mr. Katzroy?"

Sazh didn't answer, just sitting on the ground with his head down. Instead, Vanille and Sai stood in front of him defensively. But Nabaat just looked at them impassively.

"Dajh was a great help. He could sense power of Pulse origin.  _That_  let us monitor you. Words can't express our gratitude. The data he provided on enemy l'Cie was…invaluable."

She eyed Vanille.

"And speaking of gratitude…"

She pulled out a small device that could've been mistaken for a remote and tossed it on the ground in front of Sazh. A red beam appeared from it, before a circular holographic orb revealed a recording. Vanille took a step back in surprise as it showed an image of her.

Vanille was talking to some woman that Sai didn't know the name of, but he did recognize from the earlier footage from Palumpolum - Fang.

"Wha…?" Sazh muttered.

"We enhanced the surveillance footage from the energy plant," Nabaat explained. " _Those_  are the Pulse l'Cie behind what happened. The picture's a little grainy, but I'm sure you recognize  _that_  one. You've spent  _so_ much time together."

" _Fang, let's_ go," Vanille was begging in the video. " _What's our Focus even_ matter?"

" _What's it_ matter?!" She snapped. " _You wanna be a_ monster?!"

" _I just…_ "

" _Keep your chin up. We_ know _the part that matters. Right?_ We _are enemies of Cocoon. Know what_ I _say? Play the part and raise some hell. Might jump-start our memories._ "

Vanille turned in surprise. " _What?_ "

" _The fal'Cie. Let's smash it!_ "

Fang jumped back an drew her lance while Vanille reluctantly drew her rod.

" _Who are you?_ " A voice asked from behind them.

The two women turned in surprise to see Dajh and relaxed when they realized he wasn't a threat. But then, the ground began to rumble as the fal'Cie came to life, energy pulsing and the mountain the fal'Cie rested upon beginning to erupt with lava. The facility shook more violently as the fal'Cie seemed to come closer, and Dajh fell to the floor as a brand flared to life on the back of his right hand.

The scene faded out with Vanille's terrified face, realizing the damage that they'd just done as the fal'Cie began to clam down again.

"Vanille…" Sazh began.

"Vanille…?" Sai asked. "Is this true?"

He moved forward to stare at his son's crystal. All of this had happened because of too many coincidences. Dajh being made a l'Cie was hard enough, but now that he had turned to crystal, and Sazh himself was a  _Pulse_  l'Cie, everything had spiraled out of control. And Sazh, one way or another, had to say goodbye now.

He stood to his feet once more, Vanille sobbing gently a few feet to the left.

Nabaat tapped her baton in her hand. "Yes. That young lady's terrorist assault at Euride Gorge is the  _reason_ Dajh was made a l'Cie. Ironic, isn't it? The very girl you're protecting…"

She pointed her baton to Vanille accusingly.

"…is the one who stole your son."

Sazh looked up sadly, but now that it had been said aloud, everything seemed more real. Details aside, that's what happened. Nothing can change that.

Vanille covered her ears and screamed, "No!"

"Vanille!" Sai called.

She sprinted past the soldiers with him in tow, running into the clock tower entrance as a soldier trained their gun on the fleeing l'Cie.

But Nabaat held her arm out abruptly. "Hold."

She allowed the two of them to disappear within the building, before turning back to Sazh.

"Shall  _we_  finish the job? Or would  _you_  prefer to?"

Sazh looked down to his son for a moment, before running around the crystal, past Nabaat and the soldiers, and into the tower after her. They ran through the corridor and made it to the courtyard of the attraction. There were no other exits, only a throne at the other end of the room, and Vanille lost her energy.

 _Why did I even try to run? What was waiting wasn't something I could change_.

She walked up to the throne, turning to look behind her, when an image of Sazh appeared sitting at the seat.

" _You…are cold-blooded. Lying, so people would trust you. Using them as_ shields _._ "

He aimed his pistols at her.

" _How many you gotta drag down with you?_ "

Vanille tried to find words to argue, but couldn't. "I'm-"

" _A coward_ and _a killer. The people you_ used _don't get to live. Why should_ you?!"

He fired his weapon, and Vanille fell back, however, it was just an illusion, something her own mind created, and so no damage was done, to her surprise.

"Tired _of living with guilt? Then die with it._ "

The image of Sazh disappeared, and Vanille fell to sit on the ground, defeated.

"Vanille…" Sai muttered as he walked up.

How could he really comfort her through this? What happened happened. But Vanille was sorry for it, she knew she was guilty. She hated herself for it, she hated that the illusion had been right. She lied to people to get them to trust her, and then they put themselves in harm's way to protect her. She wanted someone to get retribution - she just wanted to die if it would allow her to pay for even just one of her mistakes.

Sai had been taught how to talk through someone with depression, but he'd never imagined a case this intense before.

"Vanille…"

He couldn't say it wasn't her fault. Not only would she deny it, but there was  _some_  fault of hers involved.

"Don't…"

He couldn't tell her not to blame herself. She was a good person to know that she'd made errors, and to feel the guilt from her actions.

"You…"

He couldn't tell her to seek forgiveness. She didn't think she  _could_  be forgiven. She can't even forgive  _herself_ , so how was she supposed to expect anyone else to forgive her? What would she believe was possible that was enough to keep her going?

Really, Sai wasn't in any position to say anything. Only Sazh could change her mind, because he was the only one she might believe if he told her that she needed to keep on going, that she didn't deserve to die.

And Sazh came running into the courtyard a moment later, catching his breath from running after them, holding his chest as he stood straight again and grabbed his pistol to aim at the girl on the ground.

"Vanille."

She saw him with his weapon pointed at her, and then stood to face him with resolve. "My name…is Oerba Dia Vanille. I'm a l'Cie…from Gran Pulse. And to everyone on Cocoon…evil."

She held her arms out, the dark skies flickering with thunder above them.

"Shoot me! For your son."

"Don't you  _even!_ " Sazh snapped, causing her to flinch. "You think you  _die_  and that's  _that?!_  Hm?! You think you die and everything will be  _sugar and rainbows?!_ "

"Then…what can I  _do?_  What do you  _want_  from me? If I can't live or die, what do you want me to  _do?!_ "

"Don't ask me!  _You_  figure it out."

"I  _don't know!_ "

She sobbed, letting her tears fall, and watching Sazh's gun hoping he might make the decision for her.

But he sighed and let his arm drop. "Neither do I."

He turned around, his hand on his chest near his brand.

"It's over. There nothing  _to_  do."

His pistol fell to the ground.

"Shooting you won't help."

He fell to his knees.

"Neither will living."

"Sazh…!" Sai shouted, stepping forward.

Great, now he had  _two_  suicidal l'Cie and no damn idea how to help them.

But before he could do anything, Sazh's brand began to glow, and he hunched over in pain as it flared to life with an orange glow. Suddenly, a large orb of fire appeared over him, covered in symbols, looking like a planet with rocks floating around it like Saturn's rings, and pulsing with a powerful and burning aura.

It rumbled the earth as Sazh gave a cry of pain and fell back. The orb shimmered to reveal an Eidolon within, before it popped like a bubble, releasing the energy to swirl around them as the Eidolon fell to land on the ground of the courtyard. It was obviously a fire-based Eidolon, with flames dancing from the armor on its shoulders and chest, and she had a blank mask of a face, something that one might find in the theater props box - or possibly on that horror movie villain that stalks someone before they sneak into the house and kill them.

"Do your worst," Sazh called weakly. "You freak."

Sai quickly stepped in front of Sazh, drawing his swords. "It's  _not_  over! You hear me?! It is  _not_  over, you two!"

The Eidolon held out her weapon, which seemed to be some kind of scythe, at Sai, and he took a defensive stance. She reared back her weapon and took her own battle stance, and Vanille stepped forward with possibly stupid confidence, holding her arms out. Sazh gained his own courage, retrieving his pistols and firing upon the Eidolon, taking her by surprise and forcing her to go defensive.

The two of them looked to him in surprise as he marched forward. "Okay,  _fine!_  You want me?! Come and get me!"

Vanille wiped her tears away before drawing her rod, and the three of them faced the Eidolon Brynhildr. She waved her hand, and Sazh was surrounded by dark wisps of black smoke coming from the ground around him as the Doom spell took hold.

Quick to the mark, she then aimed her bludgeon towards Vanille and let off a round of bullets towards her. She did it once more, and then finished the combo with a Pyroshot, sending a blast of Fira at her. It repeated this process as Vanille and Sai began to cast spells and Sazh shot his physical weapons.

The l'Cie then turned more defensive, Vanille casting debuffs such as Deshell, Imperil, and Deprotect, Sazh working to cast Haste, while Sai went Sentinel into Mediguard. Brynhildr charged up to use her Valkyrian Scythe, jumping up and spinning her weapon around in a Blitz-like move, knocking Vanille and Sazh back while Sai held firm. She then waved her scythe forward in another Blitz of bullets, and then swung it around once more to hit Sai, the others having been knocked out of range.

Vanille got Deprotect and Deshell to hit instantly, working to get Imperil on, while Sazh got Haste on everyone as well as Enfrost. Vanille switched to Medic and began to heal them up while Brynhildr went for her combo again, shooting her bullets at Sai before this time unleashing a Pyroburst, spinning and jumping back as she threw out a Firaga spell from her weapon.

Sazh switched to Commando and began building a chain, keeping it stable, before signaling for the others to help him in turning Ravager to build a chain gauge. The Eidolon unleashed a Valkyrian Scythe move again, this time going for Vanille since Sai left Sentinel mode, and they hastily threw their spells before returning to a defensive state, Vanille healing them up from the wide-ranged attack while Sazh went to adding more buffs and Sai took the hits as a Sentinel again.

They faced another pair of her combos, from the one ending in a Pyroshot and then the one with a Pyroburst. He got on Vigilance, Faith, and Bravery, before they were forced to take on more offensive roles as Sazh's time was running short. They attacked with their spells as they took another round of Pyro combos and a Valkyrian Scythe.

They went to building up chains, but Vanille occasionally had to heal the damage from the constant attacks. It was a constant struggle to switch between healing and defending against the attacks and helping Sazh keep the chain alive as well as building it up as far as they could to help tame the Eidolon.

Finally, Sazh managed to take control, Brynhildr holding her scythe out before putting it to her shoulder in an attentive stance, her entire body flaring with a fiery aura. She ran forward and jumped, before her entire body began to transform, her arms and legs being pulled in, her scythe attaching to become a bumper in front of a pair of wheels, another pair being made in the back while an engine formed between them, and before she hit the ground again she had transformed into a car.

As she hit the ground and drove over, Sazh jumped up and was snatched up to rest in the driver's seat, the car skidding across the ground and leaving sparks. He spun the car around in a whirlwind of flame, before coming to a stop and swiping his hands through his hair in victory, resting his elbow on the side of the cabin.

He sighed and hopped out, the Eidolon disappearing in a wave of red flame, before they all sheathed their weapons, Vanille leaning on her hands at her knees, panting.

"So…what now?" Sai asked.

Sazh looked to the ground, before slowly raising his pistol towards Vanille again. When she noticed, she was initially surprised, stepping back as Sazh stepped forward, but she straightened herself and held out her arms.

"Sazh, don't," Sai begged.

"Let him, Sai," Vanille said. "I deserve it. He has every right."

"This won't change anything. Dying is the easy way out of your sins, and this  _won't_  bring Dajh back, it won't fix anything, it won't make you feel better!"

Sazh gritted his teeth, before his face turned from a kind of desperate anger - an anger that he was trying to hold onto, but just couldn't - to a sad one. "Lot of things can be excused."

And his pistol fell to his side once more.

"Shooting kids ain't one."

The chocobo chick came flying out to Vanille with a chirp, and Vanille wiped away her tears as they began flowing once more, before she fell to her knees. Sai stepped over and kneeled next to her, taking her hand and the chick flew in close to her. What happened with Vanille and Dajh was wrong, there was no justifying what happened, but it was something she regretted. She knew what she'd done was wrong, and she wanted to make it right. That was a lot. Enough to forgive her for, even for someone like Sazh.

 _Kindness like his, you don't forget_.

Sazh had lost his son, and in trying to help him, had bargained away his own life as well, becoming a Pulse l'Cie. Now, in a way, Vanille had taken everything from him, but he had it in his heart to let her go. What would killing her do for him? It wouldn't fix everything, it wouldn't make a single thing for him feel better. Such mercy was all he had left to give.

Sazh looked to the weapon in his hand grimly. As lightning flashed above, the shadow of Sazh caught Sai and Vanille's attention as they saw weapon raised to aim at his own head. The two of them gasped (and the chick chirped) in surprise and horror.

"Enough…"

Vanille put her head in her hands to look away, and even the chocobo chick closed its eyes and looked away as it hovered next to her.

"Sazh-!" Sai began.

"…is enough."

And he pulled the trigger.

* * *

Sai and Vanille had been put in the robes used to transport prisoners, ones that locked their hands together in front of them, the same ones used for the people during the Purge.

A ship had been landed and prepared for the transport, the soldiers lining up along the pathway towards it from the clock tower, and Nabaat standing above at the top of the staircase overseeing the l'Cie being boarded.

A group of the soldiers carried Sazh in a coffin, perhaps because none of them dared to even  _touch_  a l'Cie, with Sai and Vanille being escorted behind him. Sai looked to Vanille with a grim look, but nodded as though to try and say things would be okay. They allowed the soldiers to take them forward, and Nabaat walked to meet them down the path.

"Do be careful with those," She said.

Vanille looked up to her, slight fury in her gaze, but Sai stepped in front of her gaze and just nodded for her to continue forward. She lowered her head again, and they walked past after the coffin.

"For every task," she slipped off her glasses, "there's a perfect tool."

 _All of Cocoon was against us. With us dead, they were sure everything would go back - back to the way it was before_.

* * *

"I'm loving the view," Rei said.

"Yeah!" Shu agreed. "Even Taejin's Tower can't reach  _this_  high!"

They were standing outside on the deck of the ship. While humans would probably be swept away by the wind, they were hardly affected.

Since the two of them didn't need sleep, they'd been up all night catching up.

Apparently, Shu had gone over to the Vestige when they'd realized where Rei had gone. Anima had refused to let them in, when the fal'Cie Barthandelus had appeared and tried to capture them. Shu had narrowly escaped before they had secretly traveled to Cocoon to look for Anima and Rei. They had gone back and forth from Cocoon to Pulse, trying to make sure they didn't get caught, for the past years, before they joined up with the Cavalry in the hunt for the Pulsians to ask for their assistance in fighting the government. Shu didn't really care about the government thing, they just found it a good opportunity to get help in the search for Rei without risk of her being in danger when they  _did_  find her.

Rei had, in turn, explained how she'd gone to the Vestige to try and find the l'Cie from the war that had transformed into Ragnarok. She had transformed them into crystal, after Anima had turned them to Cie'th because they had lost the war, before there was a big flash of light and suddenly she woke up, groggy and weak from centuries being in stasis. She told her story of being taken in by Sai and learning about the world, the Purge, wanting to protect Sai from becoming a Cie'th, and eventually how they made their way to Palumpolum to be found by Shu.

They then dived into a long discussion about their boyfriends. Shu practically had hearts in their eyes as they talked about Charon, and Rei got lost staring at the sky outside the window (since they had been sitting in the food court while talking about it where they had a skylight) while she described things about Sai.

Now, since day was breaking and a big operation was going down, they left the cafeteria and headed out to the deck. Charon had been working with the other people on the  _Lindblum_  for that operation, and so they'd been left alone all night.

"I miss him~!" Shu lamented. "You're all good and I've loved spending the night with you, but I just  _love_  it when he's around, you know? I feel so  _lost_  when I'm without him!"

They collapsed to lay on the deck dramatically, and Rei laughed, sitting down next to them. "Yeah, I know. I thought leaving Sai would keep him safe, but…I really miss him."

"Well, they're next up on our list, and last I heard they were going to an amusement park!"

"A park for amusement?"

"I  _know!_  I wanna go! With Charon, of course."

At this point, Shu couldn't change the subject without bringing up Charon, and Rei was happy that Shu had found someone they were so attached to. It was good to see Shu so happy. After all, during the war, she knew that Shu had been depressed thinking about where they might go, what the world was coming too. Shu's plants didn't die when they were unhappy, but they  _did_  start growing certain plants that reflected their personality, and they had grown enough narcissuses drooping over the water for Rei to make the connection.

"I should really have my chat with this Charon soon."

"Aw, Rei! But I don't wanna lose him so soon!"

"It won't turn out  _that_  bad. Unless he hurts you. In which case, I will beat him to a pulp."

"No! I mean, he won't do that. He loves me too much. Right?"

She sensed the hint of worry in Shu's voice, as though they had thought about the possibility of everything being fake before, about one of those days that Charon might wake up and not care for them anymore, or maybe dreading the day that they both got so tired of each other that they argued and never made up.

Rei smiled. "Of course. I'm just kidding. Come here, my little Sun Bug."

In reality, Shu was a bit taller than her, but Shu would always be her little sibling in both of their minds. Shu didn't mind being the childish one that had to be looked after, and Rei didn't mind having to look after the ball of quirkiness that was Asushunamir. They had that family bond that no one could break.

Shu happily laid on her lap, letting her play with their hair. "Have you been keeping this hair groomed? This looks like a mess!"

"I am the jungle, woman! My plants  _and_  my hair have the right to grow free!"

The winds of the  _Lindblum_  then suddenly began to die down as the ship lost speed, and they looked around in curiosity, Shu sitting up. "We must've reached our destination. Let's go!"

They hopped to their feet and offered a hand to Rei, who accepted it with a smile as she let the skipping Shu lead her into the ship once more.

* * *

A giant ship came flying out of the clouds on screen. It was surrounded by smaller ships flying around as well, heavily guarded and apparently very important.

" _There she is,_ " The announcer woman said proudly. " _The_ Palamecia _, pride of the Sanctum Skyfleet! This mighty flagship currently serves as a prison for the l'Cie apprehended in Nautilus._ "

"Why does it look like a bird?" Shu asked.

"They must've designed it to look like that," Rei explained.

"Well the bird's neck looks broken. Why is that front part that looks like the neck and head pointing downwards like that? That  _can't_  be aerodynamic, especially since it's all made of metal!"

" _The l'Cie will face official sentencing upon the convoy's arrival in the capital,_ " The reporter announced.

"So what's with the freak show?" Snow demanded.

"So the Primarch can stand in judgment of the villainous l'Cie…with their execution as the climax," Cid explained. "The people will cheer their demise, and fal'Cie dominion will be undisputed."

"All part of the  _plan,_ " Lightning said with distaste.

"Yes. But it  _also_  presents an opportunity."

" _In a display of_ unwavering _dedication to duty, the Primarch himself has boarded the_ Palamecia _and focused his personal attention on resolving the Pulse crisis._ "

"They're baiting us," Fang announced. "Trying to draw us out."

"Bait, huh?" Snow asked.

"Yeah, that's right," Lightning agreed. "'Here are your friends. Come and get 'em.' It serves a double purpose of announcing to the world that they've captured the big bad l'Cie."

"Well, if they're daring us to mount a rescue…I'll take that action. All in."

He knocked his fists together confidently.

"All righty," Rygdea said. "Bets are on the table. We leave when you're ready. I'll be standing by."

"Hey, where's Charon?" Shu asked, looking around.

"The PSICOM feet has us under surveillance," Cid explained. "Charon works as an undercover operative for the Sanctum, working close to the Primarch. He reports information to us as well as making sure to draw attention away from any Cavalry activity that might warrant too much attention. He has already gone ahead into the Palamecia to secure the other l'Cie's safety as well as get close to the Primarch for when you arrive. While the fleet is watching the  _Lindblum_ , you slip aboard the  _Palamecia_  with his onboard assistance. When the time is right, our brigade will launch an all-out assault to back you up."

"How did you manage to swing that?" Snow asked. "A Pulse fal'Cie getting that close to the government Primarch without getting detected?"

"I have been informed that he is very good with dealing with those who might suspect his cover. He explains that he has known the fal'Cie before Cocoon ever existed, and it is easy to fool them into thinking that he is one of them."

"We found out the hard way," Shu explained. "He's really good. Not that he likes being over there with the Sanctum."

"The hard way?" Hope asked.

* * *

_Shu and Fang walked down the halls cautiously as they followed Charon. He had just come back from a meeting with Cid, and Fang convinced Shu to follow him and see if he was hiding anything. Shu didn't want to believe Charon was up to anything, but they couldn't help but get suspicious and couldn't put the thought out of their head._

_And so they made their way after him down the halls, trying to stay far enough away that he wouldn't sense them, but close enough to follow his movements._

_He finally went into one of the rooms of the staff, and when Shu heard a second door close inside and some water running, they slipped the door open with some of their plants picking the lock and they slipped inside._

_Shu blinked and suddenly felt dizzy once they were in, but Fang pulled them off into a closet, leaving the door open a crack so they could see. When Charon walked out of the bathroom, they saw him go over to a desk and start writing something down, moving around papers as well as transferring things from the papers to the computer._

_After a moment, he began to slow down, his head raising and looking left and right. Shu and fang backed away from the door, pressing themselves to the walls just in case, and they heard Charon sniffing the air._

_As his footsteps got closer, Shu prayed that he didn't look in the closet. But the door opened and the light switched on. They were hiding behind where the door opened, but Charon took a sniff of the air and then looked right to where they were._

_"Shu?!" He hissed._

_Shu squeaked and pressed themselves closer to the wall._

_"What the hell? If you wanted to come into my room, I would've shown you in. But why's_ Fang _here?"_

_Fang merely had her arms crossed and wasn't that affected from being caught._

_"We wanted to see…what you did here on the Lindblum with the Cavalry. You're always leaving and talking to Cid about stuff, and…"_

_"And I wanted to know if something fishy was going on," Fang finished. "After all, can't have someone hurting Shu, now can I?"_

_Charon sighed in exasperation, but then looked behind him out of the closet. "Be quiet and don't do_ anything," _He ordered firmly._

_He flicked the light off and closed the door, just for them to hear another door open outside._

_"Sir, you've been summoned by his eminence," A soldier reported._

_"I'll be out in a moment," Charon said._

_"He requests your presence immediately."_

_"Give me a damn second to change! Yeesh, I'll be there before he can miss me. Now get out of my quarters. That's an order!"_

_The soldier saluted reluctantly and left the room. Charon slammed the door shut and waited until his footsteps retreated and he sensed no one else nearby before he opened his closet door again._

_"You can come out."_

_"What was that all about?" Fang asked. "You work for that high up dude in the Sanctum? What was he called? A Primarch?"_

_"I work undercover for the Cavalry, keeping a close watch on Dysley for them and to keep his scent away from the Cavalry's actions."_

_"Right, and we're supposed to believe that."_

_"Believe what you want. You think I_ like _working two feet from that guy? You think I like taking orders from him like I'm some kind of guard dog?"_

_"I think I'm hearing that you're the kind of person who knows how to act, how to lie and deceive even the high ranking government and can easily be persuaded to go undercover for the sake of someone else, no matter what it takes."_

_"I'm not doing this stupid job just for kicks, and I could care less about the Primarch and what he wants, but I do this because I want to help. If I mess up, he's already suspicious enough of me, so things won't go well, and the Cavalry will be the first thing he targets to take down, not to mention I'll be hunted as some kind of traitor to the Sanctum, aider of l'Cie, or maybe a Pulsian fal'Cie that they should fear and whatnot. The Sanctum can do whatever they like to me. Now, I have to go meet with the bastard that I'm forced to work under, but feel free to search my room all you like for anything you want to try and use against me."_

_He walked over to the desk and gathered his papers and the holographic documents._

_"These are reports that I give to the Sanctum about the Cavalry, and these are reports that I give to the Cavalry about the Sanctum. Have a party. I'll be back, and if you need anything explained, I'll explain it once I return. I promise, I'm not a traitor against you or anything, and I_ certainly _have no intentions of hurting Shu. I'd never do that."_

 _And what hurt the most is that Charon knew that he was only half lying. When Shu found out the truth, they'd never forgive him. There were small lies within his story, but so much was true. He didn't want to work for the Sanctum, he didn't want to work for the Primarch, and he didn't want to_ ever _hurt Shu. But when they found out about the lies, they'd never believe the truths. And that hurt so much even to think about._

_"And by the way, that door leads back to the Lindblum while that one leads to the Sanctum building in Eden where the Primarch lives. I recommend not taking that one if you don't want to get caught trespassing. Even I won't be able to save you then."_

_Charon disappeared in a small flash of light, leaving the two of them alone in his room._

_"Should we…?" Shu asked reluctantly._

_Fang shrugged. "Might as well."_

_They looked through the files, seeing multiple messages and reports about how the Cavalry wasn't up to anything as far as he was aware, and they were so far following orders from the Sanctum without question. They obviously knew that wasn't true, and Charon was risking a lot by saying such lies to the government about the Cavalry._

_There were also reports_  to _the Cavalry about how the Sanctum was getting suspicious of this action or another, and how they were planning to hunt down the l'Cie. Charon even got information on their ability to track down the fleeing l'Cie that they were looking for, along with all of the data and information on their biographies, their names, appearances, family members, traits, and anything else that might help get to them._

_Fang was still getting used to reading the Cocoon writing, and so Shu did most of the searching through the files, both the ones on paper and the large amount on the computer._

_"There's a lot on the Sanctum," Shu admitted._

_"So, how long have you been on Cocoon if you're able to read these so well?" Fang asked._

_"A while. I mean, I'm alone, I'm looking for someone, so there's not a lot of time to go to Gran Pulse - especially now that I'm working with the Cavalry. I go back every now and then just for my own peace, but nowadays, I've spent a lot of time learning this Cocoon script. Hey, check this out, he's got an electronic journal. Lot's about the 'Bastard Primarch.' He says how he hates bowing to the guy, doing his will. He repeats his frustration a lot."_

_Shu scrolled through the multiple pages, before they noticed their name and scrolled back a few until he found where the entries began._

_'_ I met another fal'Cie today. Well, 'met' isn't the right word. I saw him at the Lindblum. I think it's a 'he,' anyway, although I can't really be sure. I should try to avoid him. What if he senses that I'm a fal'Cie and thinks I'm working for the Sanctum? As if I needed to deal with the whole 'double agent' complications. He was staring at me a lot, so maybe he's already onto me. He certainly does look interesting though. He's kinda cute. _'_

 _'_ I saw him again. Now, I'm not really sure he's a 'he' anymore, but they're not a girl, right? The hair's long and curly, but I can't exactly place that they're a 'he' or a 'she.' I've gotten close enough to hear them talking, but even their voice doesn't give me a clear indication. Either way, they keep looking at me, and I can't help but look at them sometimes. They really are…interesting. Maybe I should talk to them. But I could give away the wrong things and then everything could just go spiraling out of control. Ugh, I hate this stupid undercover stuff. Not that I mind seeing them during my visits. Perhaps I'll gain the courage tomorrow. _'_

 _'_ Their name is Shu. Asushunamir. I think I spelled it right. They're always hanging out with this girl in blue. I wonder if they're together in a romantic way. They don't seem to be a very stoic fal'Cie, after all, and if one didn't know any better, they could mistake them for a human. They're always playing with plants, they seem to be a nature fal'Cie of some sorts. The aura I get from them is very different from my own - opposite, in fact, as they seem to represent life of some kind, and I death. When I talked to them, they seemed nervous, blushing a lot. Perhaps I could play this to my advantage. They say that they're looking for a friend, so that could also be someone romantically involved as well. Even if I can't take up that role, at the very least, it will be interesting to get to know them better. _'_

_Shu's stomach began to twist in worry that Charon hadn't wanted to be their boyfriend, but they continued reading anyway. In the background, Fang was struggling to read one paper full of information in Cocoon script, and Shu hoped that she didn't glance over and read the personal stuff they were._

_'_ I can't stop thinking about that stupid fal'Cie! _'_

_Well that was one way to crush Shu._

_'_ Why can't I get my mind off of them?! I just wanted to be their  _friend_ , not…ugh. I shouldn't be falling so hard like this. Stupid emotions. And now I invited them on a mission. What was I thinking? I'm not gonna make it through this, am I? _'_

 _Shu couldn't help but smile at hearing Charon's nervous and inexperienced side of the story, how he didn't understand his emotions at first, and how he liked Shu so much that he didn't think he'd survive their first date - which was_ totally _a date, by the way. Nice to see that he was just as worried and nervous as Shu had been._

 _'_ I'm dating them. I'm dating Shu. Wait,  _am_  I? This is so confusing! Why do they make me so uneasy? Not in a bad way, but in a way so good that I can't understand it! I'm visiting them again tomorrow, and for some reason, I can't wait. I like it when they smile. They have a cute giggle. I like just the feeling of their presence, and their touch is overwhelming. I don't understand much anymore, but what I do understand, I really like. I want to have this forever. But what if I can't? Don't make me have to lose someone. Don't ever make me choose. _'_

_"Okay, so far, I think I've got that he's been sending a report about the inactivity of the Cavalry," Fang said. "Boring stuff about searching for the l'Cie with no luck. Or something."_

_"I think he's trustworthy," Shu said, trying to keep their voice straight._

_They were nervous that Fang might be able to catch a glance of what Charon's electronic diary, even though the odds of her getting curious over it or even find out what was being said about Shu were low. They couldn't help but continue reading the entries where Charon talked all about them, how he was confused and adorable in his gushing about how Shu made him feel._

_At that point, he wasn't very interested in looking at the official stuff, and though Charon probably hadn't intended for anyone, let alone Shu, read about the personal things like this, but it was the thing that convinced Shu completely._

_"You know, I think we're good," Shu announced._

_They closed the diary and the other files, turning over to Fang. She sighed and tossed the paper she was reading on the floor, flopping back on the bed (pure black sheets, of course, and for some reason, Shu found that hot - making them blush when they realized they had just thought that. Back to Fang!)_

_Fang put her hands over her eyes. "I still hate all this Cocoon reading. Just because I_ can _doesn't mean I want to."_

_"I don't think we really need to read anymore. He checks out."_

_"Are you sure?"_

_"Yes. I'm about as experienced with Cocoon stuff as you, but…there's no denying his loyalties."_

_Fang sat up and sighed. "I just don't want this to come back to bite you."_

_"It won't."_

_She looked down hesitantly, before sighing. "Okay. I trust you to handle your problems. I'm sorry for doubting you and him."_

_"It's okay."_

_"I'll head back to the_ Lindblum _and give you two some time alone. I'm sure you're just itching for alone time with Charon in his bedroom."_

_Shu blushed. "Fang!"_

_She laughed and ruffled their hair before walking back out the door to the_ Lindblum _and leaving Shu to try and fix it while also suffering from embarrassment. Some friend she was._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, yes, Brynhildr is a girl. I checked Wikipedia about it, don't worry.
> 
> The story of the actual Brynhildr is actually pretty interesting, and I might be planning to use it in many other stories.


	21. To The Palamecia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Something bad's waiting for us," Rei muttered. "I can feel it."
> 
> "Let's go kick its butt!" Shu declared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, school. All my free time has been taken away because of you, I'm stressed out, and it's only half way through the school year. AP classes suck, my brain is worn out, and I have fanfiction to work on, dammit!
> 
> So, yeah. Updates might slow down because life sucks, and I'm finally getting back into my Heroes of Olympus story, also my stories on Fiction Press, and I have so much I want to do and not enough time or brainpower to do it all.
> 
> Reviews decide which stories I place most of my attention on.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> :)

"Rescuing Sazh, Vanille, and Sai is our top priority," Snow said. "We've got to play it smart this time - no charging in without a plan. Heh. Listen to me, talking strategy!"

"My dad's all right," Hope reported. "Another Cavalry unit rescued him and moved him somewhere safe. I kinda wish I could talk to him, but I guess I have to make my own choices now."

"Come on, let's get this show on the road!" Fang urged. "I finally found Vanille again, and I'll be damned if I'm just gonna stand around while she's in trouble!"

"I should've never left Sai," Rei muttered.

"You were trying to keep him safe," Shu pointed out. "What's so wrong with that? Besides, since you  _weren't_ with him, you get to help break him out!"

She smiled. "I've missed you, Su."

"Aw, me too! I mean, I've missed you. I don't miss myself."

She chuckled and slipped her arm around their waist to hug them as they walked.

The group of l'Cie gathered to join Rygdea as he showed them to one of the ships in the hanger. The lights snapped on to reveal a ship that didn't seem to resemble the current ones flying in and out, and it looked a bit old and beaten up - certainly not new or used often, at least.

"This baby back here's a PSICOM vessel," Rygdea explained. "It'll deliver you to the  _Palamecia_."

"Oh, we're  _cargo_  now?" Snow asked.

"A parting gift to our rotting government. Take those PSICOM guys apart."

"And we're supposed to take on  _all_  of 'em?" Lightning asked. "I think the whole  _division's_  on board."

"I don't care how many lackeys they've got," Fang said. "Bring 'em on! Vanille's in there."

"I'm sure she's fine," Hope said. "Vanille's tougher than I could ever be."

"Don't sell yourself short, kid," Shu said. "You're awesome!"

"Hope, are you scared?" Rei asked.

"Yeah, I'm terrified," Hope admitted. "But I'll be okay. Because I have you, and Light," he nodded to Snow, "and this guy, and Fang-"

"And me!" Shu jumped in enthusiastically.

Hope chuckled. "Yeah. We're  _all_  in this mess. We've got to stick together."

Rygdea chuckled. " _Right_ , enough with the  _bonding_. It's go time!"

He nodded towards the ship, and they moved to board it.

"Do we get to blow up the ship?" Shu asked.

"Maybe, once we're done," Rei admitted.

"Yeah!"

Snow chuckled and shoved Hope playfully before putting his hand on his shoulder. "What do you mean, 'this guy'?"

Hope only chuckled in response. Rei was happy to see that those two were getting along. Shu was looking forward to meeting Sai, and Rei couldn't tell how she felt about  _that_  conversation, but she imagined that they'd get along fine. Anyone who had a heart could get along with Shu, and maybe Charon was an example that Shu could give anyone a heart if given enough time.

They boarded the ship, Rygdea taking the pilot's seat, and they blasted out of the  _Lindblum_  and to the  _Palamecia_  to rescue their friends.

* * *

On the  _Palamecia_ , the Primarch Dysley sat on his throne, with Jihl Nabaat at his left and Charon at his right. Below him, people were working on the computer screens and managing the ship, with a large open deck in front of and below where the throne sat. The perfect place to oversee an execution - or that's how it looked.

"We didn't expect to see you here in  _person_ , Your Eminence," Jihl said.

"This crisis threatens the entirety of Cocoon, my child," He said. "You agree that standing at the fore is a  _leader's_  charge?"

Jihl bowed. "Wholeheartedly."

Charon rolled his eyes. These two were just too much for him. Being at Dysley's side was bad enough, but with the suck up loyalist Jihl? He was dying on the inside, even if he'd mastered the ability to keep his face straight.

He wanted to be with Shu. Despite how he acted while the quirky fal'Cie was around, pretending as though he couldn't stand the person's inability to take things seriously, he loved having their upbeat and cheerful aura beside him. It gave him a peace he hadn't had in a long time, a peace he thought he'd never have again. And now he was spoiled by that serenity, addicted like a drug even though he knew he shouldn't be. Stupid emotions.

"It also affords a splendid view of the impending execution," Dysley continued, before chuckling evilly.

Charon sighed on the inside. If he rolled his eyes anymore, they were going to get stuck.

His attention was drawn when his ears picked up Rygdea's voice coming through one of the computer coms down at a man's station below. He focused in on listening to the conversation far below.

" _What's the holdup?!_ " Rygdea demanded.

"Stand by," The guy at the computer said. "Verifying identification code."

" _You let me land this bird, or I'll crash her into your ass!_ "

Charon would've rolled his eyes, but for an entirely different reason this time. He just let a small smile escape instead. Rygdea had no etiquette or respect. He was a rebel to the core, and someone Charon could appreciate. All the work Charon went through to procure that ship for them and Rygdea was ready to crash it already.

" _Sorry about him,_ " He heard Rei say. " _But please, do make haste. We are on a schedule._ "

At Rei's voice, he thought about how Shu was on that ship as well. Shu had always talked about their best friend/sister figure, and in the short time that they'd been together, Charon had come to like Rei, and knew that those two were family and would always look out for each other. Rei hadn't had the chance to give the 'protective sister' speech, which Charon was secretly glad for. He knew that one day he'd hurt Shu, maybe sometime very soon in the future. This was the hole he'd dug himself into when he starting falling for that fal'Cie.

"Mataecharonsan," Dysley said, snapping him back.

"Yes, sir?"

"Go oversee the guarding and movement of the captive l'Cie. Make sure they stay and go exactly where we need them to."

He saluted and bowed. "Yes, sir."

 _Finally_ , a chance to leave him. Charon internally smiled at the thought that he'd be seeing Shu again soon, but he also worried that him time with them was coming to an end. He kept in mind what was at stake, and made his way down the corridors of the  _Palamecia_  to the prison hold, trying to push thoughts of losing Shu out of his mind. Of course, once they'd entered, there was no way for him to be rid of them.

* * *

"Sorry about him," Rei said over the coms. "But please, do make haste. We are on a schedule."

Two flying robotic scanners flew parallel to each other on either side of the ship, releasing beams of energy to scan the ship. When they were done, they flew off in either direction.

" _Code verified. You're free to dock._ "

"About damn time," Rygdea muttered.

"Thank you!" Shu said cheerfully.

At the base of the ship, one of the landing runways lowered to allow the ship to dock. A part of the ship resembling the tail end of a bird stretched out like an upside-down runway, holographic targeting ovals appearing to guide the ship as it came in. As they flew through, Shu whooped, saying it was like they were going into someone's eye.

Once the ship landed, the l'Cie and the two fal'Cie quickly hopped off and allowed Rygdea to retreat before things got hectic. As the ship flew away, Snow an Hope gave final waves, and they walked forward onto the landing bay, the wind still flying past.

" _Code Red! Repeat: Code Red!_ " An announcement suddenly blared. " _Attention all crew: this is not a drill! Code Red!_ "

A group of soldiers ran up from within the ship, readying their weapons.

"That certainly didn't take long," Shu pointed out, readying their hefty sword.

Snow took a battle stance. "All right. Let's tear 'em up!"

"We're here for Sai, Vanille, and Sazh," Lightning reminded him, drawing her gunblade. "Stay focused!"

Fang swung her lance into a battle stance, Hope drawing his boomerang and Rei her swords. "We move swiftly," Rei agreed.

They all began attacking the PSICOM troops, Raiders and Infiltrators.

A PSICOM Raider took of a defensive Guard stance that blocked a good deal of attacks and damage, but that didn't make him immune to the staggering capabilities, and once Lightning and Hope had thrown enough spells to make him glow golden, Rei launched him up into the air and hacked and slashed until he was a goner.

Snow and Hope's spells were taking a wide radius, using things like Thundara, and a PSICOM Infiltrator attempted to use a Manadrive Cura to heal his comrades, but the artificial magic was nothing compared to something the l'Cie could pull off, so it didn't come close to being effective enough to be a problem. One of the Raiders did try to use a Manadrive Pain on Lightning, but it didn't hit.

Shu sliced down the Raiders in his path, knocking one out of his Guard to jump up and dealing a Heavy Slash, slamming his blade down in a heavy final move. Hope healed up some accumulative damage they were taking while Lightning staggered another Raider and Fang launched it up. Snow staggered the Infiltrator that was trying to heal his buddy and himself, kicking him up into the air as well, and the troop pf soldiers was wiped out.

They sheathed their weapons just in time for another platoon to come running from inside.

"Looks like they wanna play," Fang commented.

"No kidding," Snow said. "So where to?"

The door that led back into the ship from the landing bay was sealed shut, but Rei looked up and noticed the catwalks above leading further into the ship. "Right up there."

They quickly wiped out the soldiers that had come from inside, before Rei dug through the bag at her side and tossed a bunch of seeds at the group's feet.

"Hold on," She advised.

Shu raised their hands and the seeds cracked open, sprouting green plants that began growing at an alarming rate, picking up the group and extending up to the catwalk about sixty feet up. They dropped the l'Cie on their feet before the plants began reversing their growth, pulling up from the level below until they were seeds at Rei's feet again, who picked them up and slipped them into her bag.

"Something bad's waiting for us," Rei muttered. "I can feel it."

"Let's go kick its butt!" Shu declared.

They headed down the catwalk before being forced to turn down a corridor that led outside to another ship launching and landing area, however, this one was completely exposed to the wind and air. There were stations for ships to be held with platforms and bridges connecting them. The platform was a good deal down from the door they'd come from, and there was little use going back the way they came.

"We'll find another route," Lightning declared.

"Way ahead of you," Fang said. "See that?"

She pointed to an exit further down the deck. It was just as high up as the exit they'd come from, but the platforms had a clear bridge leading up to it. All they had to do was take the right path to get up there.

"Let's go!" Hope announced.

"Don't go getting blown away now," Fang commented.

"We'll keep you safe," Shu declared. "I've been getting better at flying. And teleporting."

They made their way down the decks, which were guarded by Deckdrones and PSICOM Dragoons - who had those glossair-ring jet-packs. They didn't prove to be much of a challenge with the larger group able to throw spells as well as attack physically. In bigger numbers, the Deckdrones did managed to pull off some powerful Tornado Kick damage, and the Dragoons' Missile attacks were annoying, both powerful and causing the target to flinch, but Hope and Shu were quick healers. Hope put up some Barthunders and Protects, Fang tossed some Slows, and Rei hit them with Debrave, and Defaith, so it wasn't a hard battle even so.

"Ah, feel that wind on your face!" "You can barely see the top." "Not even l'Cie could survive a fall from up here."

They used the parked ship to jump up the platforms to make it to the higher levels, and they fought their way past the patrols to hurry into the ship again.

* * *

Not a word had been said since the l'Cie had woken in the holding cell on the  _Palamecia_.

Finally, Vanille couldn't stand the silence and looked up. "Sazh?"

* * *

_"Enough…"_

_Vanille put her head in her hands to look away, and even the chocobo chick closed its eyes and looked away as it hovered next to her._

_"Sazh-!" Sai began._

_"…is enough."_

_And he pulled the trigger._

_But when Vanille and the chocobo chick hesitantly looked up again, Sazh remained standing where he was. In the throne attraction a small distance away was a smoking bullet hole from where Sazh had shot it. Sazh's pistols slowly fell to his side, before he dropped them to the ground._

_The chocobo chick flew over to land in front of him, just as Sazh fell to his knees and then pounded his fists to the ground, his arm barely missing the small chick beside him - who closed its eyes and looked away, but quickly recovered and looked back up to him._

_"Why can't I do it?!" Sazh shouted. "I got no reason to keep living! I can't even kill you…"_

_Sai kneeled beside the sobbing man, and Vanille walked over as well putting her arms on his shoulders. "Sazh_ _…"_

_"You're alive for a_ reason _, Sazh," Sai said. "You can't give up."_

_Vanille was at a loss for words, when she and Sai looked up to find the PSICOM soldiers surrounding them. The chocobo chick panicked and retreated to Sazh's hair as a dozen weapons were trained on them from all sides._

_"Freeze!" "Take 'em!"_

_Soldiers ran in and grabbed them, one at each arm, before forcing them onto their knees. Nabaat walked through the circle of troops, tapping her baton in her left hand, ready to lay down some punishments, no doubt. The soldiers forced them to bend forward as though they were bowing, pushing down on their shoulders and shoulder blades, Vanille wincing and Sash and Sai grunting._

_"You should be proud," Nabaat said, flicking her baton out so it extended and stepping forward, raising Sazh's chin so he looked her in the eye. "Your son's a_ hero _. The boy who saved Cocoon. We'll erect a memorial in Eden and put his crystal on display."_

_Sazh shook the baton away. "A memorial? He's a little boy!"_

_"As the son of a Pulse l'Cie, he would have in shame and misery."_

_Vanille's head fell at the reminder, reminded that had she never gotten Dajh turned into a l'Cie, perhaps Sazh might not have gone and been turned into one as well in his attempt to help his son._

_"Isn't it better he be treated with reverence, as a monument to sacrifice?"_

_At that, Sazh screamed in anger, the men around the ground training their guns on him as he struggled to get free of his captors. Nabaat calmly walked up and swung her baton, hitting him at a pressure point on his neck and causing him to stop. The soldiers released him as he fell forward, catching himself with his arm and reaching out, but he was woozy and losing consciousness fast._

_"Next time your eyes open will be the last," Nabaat declared._

_Sazh fell to his stomach, only able to watch Nabaat retreat before he blacked out._

* * *

Sazh sighed, uncrossing his arms and pushing away from the wall to sit on a pipe across from the seats Vanille and Sai were sitting on. "I'm pathetic."

Vanille looked down sadly at the chocobo chick in her hands. "That's  _my_  line. I'm the one who  _lied_  to everyone."

"Forget it," Sai said. "You can't change what's done."

She surged to her feet, the chick squeaking as it was forced to take flight. "But…! If I'd just told the  _truth_ …!"

"Now, now, now," Sazh said, holding his hand out as the chick flew to land in it. "I've been thinking.  _You_ woke up from being a crystal once." He chuckled. "Well, that means Dajh will wake up one day too, right?"

Vanille looks down in realization, but nodded her head with a smile.

The little chick flew to sit on the pipe besides Sazh, while Sai asked, "What was it like? I mean, how did it happen? You were done with your Focus, right? Did you just suddenly transform wherever you were?"

She looked up solemnly. "I was chosen. I was made into a l'Cie to fight against Cocoon."

She took her seat once more.

"It happened back on Gran Pulse, hundreds of years ago. We finished our Focus, and we fell into a long crystal sleep."

* * *

**_Day 1_ **

**_Bodhum - The Pulse Fal'Cie_ **

* * *

When Rei had walked into Anima's Vestige, she hadn't expected to fin the fal'Cie asleep. It was then that Rei had felt an enormous burst of power fighting against her mental barriers, and she had been forced into her own coma.

When she came to, she was in the middle of the main hall. Her form barely fit in the area, but luckily the ceiling was high. She felt groggy, her body and mind tired, but she managed to condense her form down to human size.

" ** _Anima, what has transpired? How did I end up here?_** "

" ** _The cursed Cocoon fal'Cie - Barthandelus - has brought the two of us to the enemy's land, along with the two l'Cie who were tasked with becoming Ragnarok. Their eyes had long since turned to crystal, yet now they shall wake with a new Focus. It would seem a resident of this retched planet found their way to this vestige, and I have given her a Focus as well. Cocoon shall pay for what it did to us._** "

She rubbed her eyes, trying to wake herself up, before she felt a wave of energy, powerful, yet somehow familiar, fly past her like a breeze. She saw as small shards of crystal in the air began to gather, flying past her and to a crystal of a woman at her right and up above. A second woman's crystal was being held above opposite to the first, and Rei realized these were the l'Cie Anima had spoke of, the ones that Rei had turned to crystal.

The first crystal began to glow, shimmering as she was transformed back from crystal to flesh. She floated up, her clothes rematerializing onto her, first just in light silhouettes, but then turning into the real fabric.

Rei realized she was reverting and pulled herself to her feet and ran. She stumbled, stiff from being asleep, but she made it through the doors and down the stairs to the outside. If Anima had given these l'Cie new Focuses, Rei wanted to be nowhere near a confrontation with them and Cocoon. Rei had had enough of wars and conflict. She'd had enough of Anima's anger and grudge. She just wanted to go and find Shu.

Rei mustered the energy to disguise her human form properly into hunter attire, before heading out. Anima had said that she had been taken to the enemy's land, but all Rei needed to do was regain enough strength to get home. Shu would be worried about her, after all, and she needed to make sure the fal'Cie stayed out of trouble.

Yet when she met the human man that took her in, he explained that the war had happened centuries ago, known to the people of Cocoon as ' _The War of Transgression_ ,' as opposed to simply, ' _The Great War,_ ' as Pulsians had called it.

It was then that Rei realized, sitting in her savior's room after he'd left her to try and figure out some outfit while he went to the 'store,' that her home was gone. Fal'Cie lived with infinite life spans, unless they found conflict between each other and killed their own, but being asleep, missing centuries worth of time, was just as scary to a fal'Cie as it was a human, especially if the sleep wasn't something she had planned.

What had she missed? What had changed?

Was Shu out there still? Were they looking for her? But if they were, they would've gone to Anima's Vestige and would've been there with Rei, or at the very least guarding it and waiting for her to wake up. But she didn't sense Shu in the area. She couldn't sense them at all. Could it be that the years merely weakened their bond, or was it that Shu was just…gone?

Her heart sank at the thought. Shu was just as immortal as any other fal'Cie, but they were very sensitive to emotions for their kind. If Rei went missing and Shu wasn't able to locate her, maybe because of Barthandelus…Rei knew that Shu wouldn't survive. They would die from grief, alone, afraid, insecure, and without any comfort, any path.

Fal'Cie didn't cry, Rei told herself. Fal'Cie didn't feel pain or remorse. But she had never been like other fal'Cie. She and Shu were the outcasts, the oddballs who had emotions, feelings.

She hugged the squishy rectangle that was sitting next to her on the bed. She wished Shu were here. She wished she hadn't gone to the Vestige and left them behind. She wanted their quirky jokes to cheer her up; she wanted to complain about their hair just so that they would have something to talk about, a friendly conflict; she wanted to protect her little sibling like a proper sister.

Instead, she could only say that she'd let them down.

* * *

"We woke up…on Cocoon, to the start of a new Focus," Vanille explained. "Fang, she'd forgotten everything. And for me…just the thought of hurting people again…it was too much. So I lied. I played dumb, said I'd lost my memory. I wanted to escape my fate as a l'Cie. And ever since then, I've been running away from it."


	22. To the Rescue-ish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "One big, fat stroke of luck after another," Snow muttered. "I'm so happy I could cry."
> 
> "You do that, sweetheart," Rei said.

"We're in the main hall," Rei reported. "It's crawling with soldiers."

They stayed behind the cover of the wall perpendicular to the corridor that led further into the ship, and Snow moved to the corner to shout around, "Let us through! Block our way, you die!"

"You  _trying_  to get 'em angry?" Fang asked, a hang on her hip.

Snow shrugged. "Eh, thought maybe they'd run. There's been enough blood spilled."

Lightning rolled her eyes, hands on her hips. "You thought they'd  _run?_  Let me refresh your memory. Those soldiers think they're  _protecting_  Cocoon from l'Cie. The  _fal'Cie_  have them all brainwashed."

Snow punched the metal wall. " _Fal'Cie_ …! I have  _had_  it! We  _cannot_  let this go on!"

"Then let's go make a difference!" Shu encouraged. "Show the world the truth!"

The alarms started blaring once more, and a screen across the hall flickered from red to green. " _Attention all crew: Code Green! Repeat: Code Green! Security forces stand by! Hostile forces on board, Code Green!_ "

"Someone must've punched the wall too hard," Rei muttered.

"They're going on higher alert," Lightning figured. "We should keep moving before they locate and swarm us."

They moved down the hallway filled with soldiers, finding trouble with the occasional Guarding Raider, Infiltrators and their Manadrive magic such as Cure, Pain, and Fog, and especially the PSICOM Huntresses with their quick Manadrive Bravery, Protect, Shell, and Haste moves along with their quick and hard attacks. They were resilient, taking attacks without flinching until they were staggered, and could even launch people up into the air if they got in enough hits.

The large team didn't have much trouble dispatching them, and once they had gotten used to the soldiers, they weren't hard to overcome. They faced some Vikings, finding that it had a fire-based attack as opposed to the electricity-based one of the Orions, but it didn't have an equivalent of the Sparkstorm charging attack (at least, they never lived long enough to  _use_  the Thermal Discharge attack), and so it turned out to be  _less_ dangerous.

The halls didn't have anything interesting after that, and they made fast progress through the corridors of the  _Palamecia_.

* * *

Charon took command of the soldiers in charge of the l'Cie cell, as well as a Vespid Solider.

" _Attention all crew: Code Green! Repeat: Code Green! Security forces stand by! Hostile forces on board, Code Green!_ "

He smiled as the alarms blared. He did his research on all the stupid color protocols that they had on the ship, and quite honestly, it was an overcomplicated system that he knew Shu was going to be wreaking havoc on. He felt a surge of excitement at seeing Shu soon, but first he had a job to do with the other three l'Cie that had been captured.

He punched in his I.D. code into the cell door and they slid open, the soldiers with their weapons at the ready. He had five men and the Vespid soldier, probably overkill for just three l'Cie, but they weren't taking any chances. Considering the three l'Cie were the ones who were the overkill, Charon didn't see a problem.

He  _did_  find that the head piece covering his eyes like sunglasses was unnecessary, though. It was for intel, communications, and aided soldiers in battle, but only douchebags wore sunglasses inside.

Four soldiers at each side, one in the middle and the Vespid covering the back, the six (seven if you count the Vespid) walked into the small cargo area that served as a prison. Charon was surprised that they kept the l'Cie in such a low-tech and run-down area, but then again, it  _was_  the place you'd  _least_  expect them to be, and if you went in from the more obvious entry points to the ship, you'd be on the opposite end of the area.

"Get up, boys and girl," He announced. "You're being moved."

One soldier each went to the three l'Cie, one pulling the girl, Vanille (he remembered it because of vanilla) to her feet harshly. "On your feet, scum!"

The younger of the two males looked like he didn't like being bossed around by PSICOM soldiers, possibly one himself, or at least a former one. He was pulled to his feet with a small grunt of more rage than fear, and elbowed the guy to let him go, standing firm while preserving his dignity.

The soldier that walked over to the final man - older with an afro and an identification badge on his shoulder showing he was a pilot - shouted, "You too!"

The man, Sazh, Charon believed, merely chuckled without smiling, and then tilted his head. "Get him."

A small chocobo chick came zipping out with a chirp of furry, flying right into the soldier's face with enough force to send him staggering back with a shout of surprise. Sazh stood, charging up in the man's confusion to shove him into the man next to Vanille, slamming them both against the wall as Vanille quickly dodged out of the way.

The younger soldier, Sai maybe, grabbed his soldier's wrist with the gun in his hand, yanking it forward and dislocating his shoulder before elbowing the soldier in the face with a crack indicating a dislocation of his jaw, too. He pulled on the poor sod's arm, throwing him into the wall with enough strength to make a dent in the metal.

Charon grabbed one of the soldiers remaining, tossing him into the final one, the two of them colliding and then flying into the wall behind them, but not before the final soldier's gun went flying from the sudden impact and allowed him to catch it in flight. He turned to the Vespid, the gun outstretched, and then pulled the trigger for an automatic barrage of bullets that tore through the mechanical monster before it could even consider attacking, and it went down in a small explosion, the core set ablaze.

He pulled off the headset covering his eyes, finally freeing his head from the stupid thing, and rested the gun on his shoulder. "Welcome, lady and gentlemen. I'm Charon, and I'll be your host for today's prison break. Please take one gun of your choice and follow me to your regularly scheduled weapons retrieval."

"Wait,  _you're_  helping  _us_  break out?" Sai asked.

"Got a problem with that? I'll explain later. Right now, your friends are looking for you, and raising some hell while they do. Shall we join them?"

The three of them looked to each other, but shrugged. The old saying about a gift-horse and whatnot.

"All right, time to split," Sazh announced. "Not  _run_. There's a difference."

"Gotcha," Vanille nodded.

The little chocobo chick returned to Sazh's afro and the three of them grabbed the weapons of the soldiers, making sure to keep the extra ones for the sake of extra rounds if they needed them and so that when the soldiers woke up, they didn't have them.

Charon unlocked the door and led them down the halls to the room where their original weapons were being kept. He got them access to that room as well, and they each grabbed their respective items, Sazh's pistols, Vanille's rod, and Sai's fal'Cie swords. Charon hadn't expected Sai to have actual swords enchanted with a fal'Cie's power, but he realized they could do serious harm to a fal'Cie should he turn them against one, much more damage than any human weapon could muster.

After examining their weapons to make sure they were in working condition, they saw Vanille looking sadly at her rod. "Do I… _deserve_ …to escape?"

"What are you talking about?" Sai asked. "Of  _course_  you do."

Sazh sighed and sheathed his pistols onto their holsters. "What? You'd rather die?"

"Wha…?" Vanille muttered weakly.

"'Cause that's gotta scare you. Scares  _me_. Scares me so much, I think I might die of fright. So…I push myself to live even harder." He chuckled lightly. "I can just imagine Dajh, laughing at me, talking this nonsense." He rubbed the back of his head with a small laugh. "Right now, I'd do anything to see that smile."

Vanille chuckled, nodding her head.

"Stay positive!" Sai said, throwing his arms up. "Right?"

Vanille sheathed her weapon and they made their way down the corridor. Charon explained the situation as they made their way down the halls. The security here was light, with merely Flanborgs with a new Pacifying Shock attack and Flanitors with their healing coming in small groups, but nothing to be concerned about. Charon activated the security doors closing off the area, but the corridors of the cargo area were pretty expansive.

"Why do they always have to make these things more complicated than they need to be?"

"Because if they didn't, everything would be too easy," Charon said. "And that would be just  _ridiculous_."

They made their way to the exit of the cargo hold, only to find the screens on the wall flash up a purple screen and the announcer yelling frantically, " _Code Purple! I repeat: Code Purple! S-Security breach! All units on alert! Code Purple!_ "

The guy sounded almost pitiful, like he was getting just as confused by all the colors as everyone else was. He seemed tired out, probably not expecting to have to make so many announcements.

"Looks like we ain't the only ones cleaning house," Sazh said.

"Rei and my Shu are kicking ass and taking names," Charon agreed.

"Could be the l'Cie, too," Sai pointed out.

"Could be Fang," Vanille added. "Come on, let's hurry."

"Let's go get rescued," Sazh agreed.

But Vanille shook her head firmly. "Uh-uh. No, not this time. For  _once_  in my  _life_ ,  _I_  am going to save  _her_."

Charon chuckled. "All right, now you're talking! Let's go!"

* * *

Rei rolled her eyes when the screens flickered from green to purple. " _Code Purple! I repeat: Code Purple! S-Security breach! All units on alert! Code Purple!_ "

"Wow, how many colors are we gonna go through today?"

"I want the green one back!" Shu complained. "I like green!"

"All these colors," Hope mused. "What's it mean?"

Fang put a hand to her hip. "Means we're doing our job. Making a lot of PSICOM guys nervous."

The ship jostled from a fight pretty far from where they were, so no way was it coming from any soldiers near them.

"Who are they fighting?" Hope asked.

"Vanille…" Fang muttered, a fist clenched.

"Sai and Charon are probably kicking ass and taking names," Rei said. "Right now, we need to keep moving to meet up with them."

They headed forward through a large door into a circular room, the pathways making up concentric rings filled to the brim with enemies. The pathways between the circular platforms were staggered, so there was no straight way through. There were four doors, including the one that they came through, and only one new one was green, all of them guarded but the red doors closed for business.

"I guess green means go?" Fang said.

"Only way we got," Rei agreed.

"Yea! Green!" Shu agreed.

The Thermadons proved to be their normal annoying shelled monsters with powerful Photon Bursts, the Vikings started coming in larger groups of three, the Vespid Soldiers had some powerful wind attacks, and combining those with the soldiers with their healing, buffing, and debuffing, and it was evident how hard PSICOM was trying to ward off the intruders, but they busted their way through it all and made a path to the exit door without much trouble.

* * *

As a woman sat chained at the side of the Primarch, she saw the people below at the computers as well as Jihl Nabaat losing her control over the situation. She felt a small sense of contempt at seeing the carefully-laid plan fall apart. Of course, the fact that she was even there proved that the Primarch knew what he was doing.

"Colonel!" A woman at one of the computers called. "We've lost the intruders!"

Jihl removed her glasses in a huff. "That means…we're Code Yellow." She began to pace. "No, wait…Code  _Blue?_ " She paced back again as if addressing an audience. "If we were  _Orange_ , that would mean-"

"The escapees made it through!" A man called. "They're entering the engine room!"

"No!" Jihl smashed her glasses in her hand. "Damn l'Cie!"

"Intruders located!" Another man shouted. "They're on the weather deck, starboard side!"

Jihl stomped over to the side of the platform that was facing him and slammed down her broken glasses. "Make it rain!"

She paced past the woman chained down once more. The Primarch beside her, as she predicted, was completely calm about the situation, sitting peacefully on his throne with his large staff in hand.

"Desperate times demand flexibility," He claimed. "Code White."

The screens around the room reacted to his voice command, flickering to light. As if things couldn't get worse with her being held there personally, most likely for her greatly delayed execution, but 'flexibility' probably meant something bad for Charon.

But she was in no condition to do any protesting or rebelling. She hated it when Charon was hurt because of her, and after all these centuries, she'd hoped that it would've been over by now. But it was only just beginning, and she knew that there were no more chances of a happy ending between them now.

One way or another, Barthandelus would never let her go back to the way things were before.

* * *

" _Bridge to engine room. We're losing thrust. Engine room, do you copy? What's the status of the main reactor?_ "

" _That_ …is a large ball of electricity," Sai summarized.

At the center of the room, there was a large orb generating the power for the ship, sparking with orange electricity, before it pulsed and the light and energy died away.

"Power's down," Sazh reported. "What's going on?"

"Don't know, don't care," Charon said. "Let's hurry past."

They made their way through the small wave of monsters guarding the room. They passed a Thermadon guarding the path out of there, but the biggest problem turned out to be a door.

"There's no panel," Charon muttered. "It's remote activated from somewhere else, and the engine room's locked down."

Sazh pounded his fist against the door. "Dammit!"

"Incoming!" Sai announced, and they all turned to see a horde of monsters coming their way.

"Well, isn't this  _great?_ " Charon muttered.

They faced a pair of Vespid Soldiers and Thermadons, quickly taking out the Vespids to eliminate their quick Aeroga attacks, before moving to stagger and then pummel the Thermadons, while Vanille kept them healed up, helped put on debuffs, and build the stagger gauge.

When it was all said and done, Sai turned back to the door. "Hey, how do y'all feel about explosives?"

* * *

As the group exited to the weather deck, strong winds began to come to more of a halt, and they realized that the ship was slowing.

"The wind - it's dying down," Hope reported.

"Yeah, it's stopping," Lightning agreed. "And  _we're_  decelerating."

"That can't mean anything good," Rei said. "They up to something?"

Snow rubbed the back of his head. "I don't suppose it could just be - I don't know - good luck?"

Panels opened up on the deck to release mechanical monsters, Vespid Soldiers now able to fly stably without the strong winds, and Vikings and Deckdrones free to roam, not to mention some Dragoons.

" _That_  looks a lot more like  _bad_  luck," Fang pointed out.

"You've got a point," Snow admitted.

"Not to me," Rei said.

"That? That we can do something about," Lightning agreed.

They made their way across the deck, fighting through the mechanical troops, going up and down ramps. They made it around the side of the ship's decks to find a battle ship launch bay, large garage-like openings and runways opening out from inside the ship. Of course, there were metal doors that blocked off the way inside, as the ships rose up from a platform beneath, so that wasn't a way to get in.

They ran across the platforms, only to find a new player flying in. A wyvern-type mechanical creature came flying in, it's wings covered in electrical sparking metal and its yellow body surging with electricity.

"So, Light," Fang said, drawing her lance. "How you figure this makes us  _lucky?_ "

"Because," She responded, her gunblade drawn. "When we kill it, we're one step closer to Vanille. How's that?"

Fang smirked and twirled her lance. "Well, when you put it  _that_  way…!"

The Kalavinka Striker flew in and blitzed its wings around to smack the group. Hope didn't need to be a genius to figure out that Barthunder was probably a good idea, not to mention Protect and Shell, Fang managed to cast Slow and Curse, and the others threw a large wave of spells - unsurprisingly avoiding thunder-based ones.

They managed to stagger it, and after a quick heal up from Hope, they battered it hard, and in just a single stagger they managed to finish it off with as many Smite attacks as they could fit in - the only one incapable of the move being Hope.

The monster fell to the deck, the electricity in its wings fading as it slid off the ramp and down to the ground far, far below.

"Well, that was easy," Shu muttered, looking down to see the speck disappear in the distance.

"Another one!" Hope shouted.

They saw an identical monster come flying in and they prepared their weapons once more.

"One  _big_ ,  _fat_  stroke of luck after another," Snow muttered. "I'm so happy I could cry."

"You do that, sweetheart," Rei said, locking the two ends of her swords together to create a lance.

The Striker came flying in, and Rei brought down her weapon to strike at its wing, but it flew past, and she barely clipped it.

"Tease us, will ya?!" Fang shouted.

"Come down here!" Snow ordered, knocking his fists together.

"I think you scared it, Rei," Shu said, elbowing her.

"Oh no, I think it just didn't like your big-arse sword," She replied, returning the favor.

They broke into a fit of laughter together, before an explosion shook the ship, and all they looked to see that it had come from  _inside_  the ship, as in a large cloud of smoke built as they saw a hole had been punched through the wall.

The first to come out of it was a small yellow dot that revealed itself to be a chocobo chick. As the dust cleared, three coughing figures came out, the first being Vanille, who hopped down to the deck and out of the smoke, the second being Sazh, disoriented from the blinding smoke and waving it away as he tried to breathe, and then Sai, who gasped at the fresh air.

"Whoo, that worked," He muttered.

A figure patted him on the back. "Your idea, buddy," Charon said. "Not a bad one, really, but we probably should've considered the smoke inhalation."

"Vanille!"

Vanille waved away the smoke and looked up smiling brightly as she saw her friend. "Fang!"

The two ran up to each other happily, while Rei rushed up to Sai. "Sai! Are you okay?"

"I'll live," He said. "How 'bout you?"

She smiled. "Right as rain."

He nodded. "Good. Oh, remind me to take you to Nautilus. You'll  _love_  it there."

"Not-all-us?"

"Nautilus. It's an amusement park. For amusement."

She beamed as she understood. "Right!"

Snow looked up into the sky, and Fang pushed Vanille behind her defensively. Rei pulled Sai back, and he assumed a defensive stance, while Charon grabbed his daggers. "Ooo, fun."

"There you are," Snow muttered.

"Miss me?" Sazh asked having his back turned to where everyone was looking.

"Not you, the  _monster!_ " Snow snapped.

"What?! Where?!"

He drew his pistols and saw the Kalavinka Striker coming in once more.

This Striker chose to send out a bolt of lightning from its mouth as its first attack, and as the previous process of buffing themselves defensively with Hope and Fang doing her Slow and Curse thing was repeated, they were hit with numerous lightning blasts that slowed down the process and caused the group to constantly flinch. On the bright side, Vanille and Sazh were now there to aid in the buffing and debuffing, Sazh now offering offensive buffs to add onto Hope's defensive, and Vanille there to add key debuffs like Deprotect and Deshell - although it took her much longer to get them to stick because the Striker was pretty resistant.

The others worked on throwing their spells to stagger it, and Hope and Vanille alternated from their buffing to healing constantly, as this Striker was alternating between hard hitting lightning attacks and its sweeping attack, both of which hit multiple targets within a range. Fang and Snow went Sentinel a couple times to help the healers keep up, and the three fal'Cie were all over the place, helping with buffs, throwing spells, doing the physical attacking, blocking big hits, healing emergency cases where the healers had been spread thin, and throwing debuffs.

The Striker then swirled in the air, flying high up and having its larger mouth charge up a crazy amount of electricity in a very short period of time. The Striker's entire body glowed bright enough to be mistaken for the sun, and then it shot down a beam to come striking down right towards-

"Uh-oh," Shu muttered.

They were struck right in the chest and sent flying across the deck, the blast raising smoke and the shockwave knocking everyone around them back. Their sword clanged on the deck as it skittered away, and Rei and Charon rushed over.

"Shu, are you okay?" Rei asked quickly.

Shu groaned and spasmed from electricity still coursing through them. "Plants don't like electricity…" They moaned.

Shu was tensed up, their entire body in pain, and they almost seemed to be shivering from the electricity shooting around in them. They winced every few seconds from a really bad jolt, and bit their lip, looking on the verge of crying.

Charon gritted his teeth. "Rei, with me!"

He sprinted forward, and Rei charged in after him. He tossed his Kozuka high above the monster, and grabbed Rei's hands before they appeared in the air, Charon's Kozuka in his hand with Rei at his other. The two of them held out their opposing hands that weren't clasped, Rei with her lance, Charon with his knife, and charged spells, before they let gravity take them down into the Striker.

They each slammed an orb of gathered energy onto the Striker, and on contact, they blasted out to reveal a Waterga spell from Rei and a Blizzaga spell from Charon, the water surging through the circuitry of the flying machine, and then the ice freezing it over. Charon then drew his Zanmato and one-handedly focused its power and slammed it down on the Striker's back, fire erupting from the blade  _also_  being infused with a Firaga spell.

Couple this with the fact that the others had managed to stagger the thing, and it didn't stand a chance. It hit the deck in an explosion, which barely affected the fal'Cie standing above it besides disturbing Rei's hair and causing it to blow in the wind. They sheathed their weapons and hopped off, before Rei kicked the thing like a football and sent it flying off the edge of the ship.

"Shu!"

They rushed over to find Shu was lying on the deck with their eyes closed. Charon pulled them into his arms and shook them. "Shu. Shu!"

The fal'Cie coughed and groaned. "I feel like a cooked potato…"

Charon chuckled in relief. "Well, on the bright side, you'll taste delicious."

"Ew, Charon!" Rei scolded. "You won't speak of eating them in  _any_  way!"

Charon just smiled, and Shu laughed tiredly, snuggling up to Charon.

"So, uh…" Sai began, clearing his throat. "Is this your friend?"

"Oh, right, yes!" Rei said. "Sai, this is Shu."

"The potato man!" Shu said drowsily.

"And that's their boyfriend, Charon."

"I remain just a fal'Cie, thank you very much," Charon said.

"That's…boyfriend…oh," Sai stuttered.

"Yeah, they're adorable," Rei said, smiling.

"I am death and destruction!" Shu protested. "Oh, wait. Isn't that Charon's line?"

"I don't say that," Charon protested.

"Yes you do! Or maybe that was only in that dream I had…"

"Do I wanna know?"

"Nope."

"And neither do the rest of us, so moving on!" Rei said, waving her hand over Shu as a blue magic spread over them.

As it sank in, Shu suddenly jumped as though they'd just woken from a dream about falling, clinging to Charon like a monkey. "I'm up!"

Meanwhile, Fang pulled Vanille into a hug, her lance still drawn in her other hand. "Vanille…"

"Fang!" Vanille reciprocated happily.

Snow gave a small 'Aw' while they hugged, before Fang then kneeled, turning Vanille to the side and lifting her skirt to look at Vanille's brand on her upper thigh. Sazh, Snow, and Hope awkwardly looked away, while Lighting looked between the boys with a hand on her hip.

"You've still got time," Fang announced in relief.

"Fang…" Vanille began as Fang stood again. "There's…there's something I need to tell you-"

But Fang interrupted with another hug. "Making me worry like that…we'll talk later, Missy."

Rei took Sai's hand and lined up their halves of their brand. He was in early stages as well, but she couldn't help but think how no matter how long he had, the end was inevitable. "You'll be all right," She assured him, but mostly, herself.

Sazh stared at the scenes with his own sadness in his eyes, and Snow took notice. "What's wrong?"

Sazh snapped to attention. "Oh, uh…nothing! It's nothing. Uh…so. Uh, what's on the agenda?"

Snow stepped forward and punched a fist into his palm. "Toppling the Sanctum," He said casually.

"No, I mean  _really_."

"He's serious," Lightning said. "We're gonna take down the Sanctum and give Cocoon back to the people. The fal'Cie have called the shots for long enough."

Sai chuckled and shook his head. "It's crazy. I'm in."

"If we pull this off, it'll be a miracle," Hope said.

Fang tapped her lance against the deck. "Well. Good thing Lady Luck's on our side."

They turned and looked up as a swarm of Garuda Interceptors flew by.

" _More_  of 'em?" Sazh demanded.

"I'd assume that there are dozens," Charon said, helping Shu to their feet. "This  _is_  a heavily guarded palace ship, after all."

"You know, this is getting  _really_  old," Snow commented.

"Check this out," Fang said. "A miracle - Gran Pulse style!"

The two Pulsian woman hurried forward, and Fang pointed to one the Interceptors. "Vanille, go fish!"

Vanille readied her rod. "Got it!"

The Interceptor charged in and sent down a wave of electricity, but Fang guarded Vanille and as it was flying away, Vanille cast her rod, the wires shooting out after the wyvern. Fang jumped up through the air as Vanille tugged back on the wires, each grabbing a part of the Interceptor's wings and body. The Interceptor came to an abrupt stop in the air, and Fang came down on it with her lance, impaling it at a pressure point on it's neck and forcing it docile.

"That's a good girl," Fang said. She turned back to the others and pumped a fist. "All right!"

"Let's get on!" Vanille said.

"Ooo, our turn, Rei!" Shu said.

She chuckled and ran after them, grabbing some seeds from her bag and tossing them in front of her. The plants began growing, picking them up as they ran past and then launching them up into the air.

"Whoo-hoo!" Shu called.

Rei laughed, before the two of them came down to land on an Interceptor mid-flight. Rei put her hand to it's head, and then Shu flicked their wrist, and the Interceptor came to a stop, pumping its wings to keep them stable in the air, but now under Shu's command.

"Cordyceps for the win!" Shu shouted.

"Get on, boys!" Rei called.

Charon grabbed Sai's wrist and tossed his Kozuka, teleporting them onto the Garuda. Charon released Sai the moment they were aboard, leaving Rei to steady him after the dizzying flight, before Charon grabbed Shu and planted a kiss on their lips that nearly caused the Interceptor to fall because they were so caught off guard.

"You are amazing," Charon declared.

Shu blinked a few times before they came back to reality and then smiled. "I know!"

"Let's move it!" Rei called. "We've got a ship to break into!"

With Fang guiding her Garuda and Shu guiding theirs, the two flew their monsters out and around the ship, though it looked like Sazh was flailing from the back of the other Garuda, possibly because he hadn't gotten on before they'd taken off, or because he'd nearly fallen and no one cared to help him get to a more stable position.

"Believe in Lady Luck now?!" Fang shouted over the winds.

"Yeah!" Sazh called. "Lady  _Bad_  Luck!"

Snow pumped a fist. "Time to Purge a Primarch!"

"You betcha!" Shu shouted. "Hyah!"

They urged their Interceptors towards the ship (Sazh screaming the entire way) and as they got closer, the defense measures activated, shots from both the ship and the surrounding aircrafts all firing upon them. Rei held up a barrier around each of the Garudas, and as they approached the front of the  _Palamecia_ , they released a pair of the lightning bolts at the deck, blasting through before they circled around again.

"Jump!"

Everyone fell from their flying monsters, letting them go off to who knows where, and together - some screaming in fear, others in excitement, and some not at all - they fell into the smoke and back into the  _Palamecia_.

 _I had my doubts. But_ … _I also_ believed _that, if we stuck together, somehow, we could change our fate_.


	23. Barthandelus and Styx

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You never know until you try," Hope said.
> 
> "You're gonna wish you hadn't…" Fang muttered playfully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know the drill. Enjoy! :)

As everyone picked themselves up from the fall, Rei looked over the edge of the platform they were on. They were in a long corridor, where the only way to get to the other end was to activate a spider-web of pathways. At the end, a fancy doorway was at the bottom of the ramps leading down the tiers of the platforms connecting them.

"Dysley's through there," Charon said solemnly.

Everyone nodded and made their way forward as Charon activated the panel that extended a platform down to the next level forward.

Fang pulled held Vanille back for a moment. "We're still gonna have our talk." She sighed. "But let's survive this first, yeah?"

Vanille nodded. "Right."

The area was swarming with troops, because obviously it was, but the newest enemies were the PSICOM Destroyers with the Bazooka attacks and the PSICOM Reaver with all of his Manadrive abilities, like Dispel for all the positive buffs the group attempted to use, along with a charged Manadrive that allowed him access to a Ruinga spell, and things like Deshell adding on with the Raider's Pain, Fog, and Curas. Put them all together in too large a group, and the Dragoons would join in on the party with their Missile Bursts, and they did pose a pretty big threat if there weren't so many l'Cie and fal'Cie all working together as well.

* * *

"You sure are cute when you're protective," Shu said to Charon as they walked.

The groups had split up into two teams of three l'Cie each with the fal'Cie and Sai being the fourth group, and Rei and Sai were off in their own conversation at the moment.

"What? I am  _not_ ," Charon protested.

"Oh? But it was so cute when you got all angry over me getting hurt."

"Yeah well…Rei was just as angry as I was."

"You busted out your Zanmato for me, and one-handed without any concentration, either. And you've never infused it with a spell before."

"Y-Yeah, but…"

"Are you saying that you  _didn't_  feel hurt when I got blasted?"

Shu broke out their pitiful kitten eyes and Charon didn't stand a chance. "If course that's not what I'm saying!"

"Then  _what_ , Chare?"

"I-I…I'm…I'm not cute…" He protested weakly.

Shu put their hand to their chin, resting their elbow on their other arm. "Ah, right. Well, how about I rephrase that?"

They grabbed Charon by his jacket and pulled him into a kiss, taking Charon by surprise and leaving him breathless by the time it was over.

"You sure are hot when you're protective."

And then Shu just freaking walked forward to catch up to Rei and Sai, leaving Charon just standing wide-eyed as well as embarrassed. Shu was  _never_  the bold one in their relationship. Honestly, Charon had no idea whether he was terrified by the change or if he was…intrigued.

"I have no idea what's going on anymore…"

He shook himself back to reality and let out a smile. Shu was crazy, but he couldn't imagine life without that fal'Cie. Dammit. He was falling hard and he couldn't get back up.

He was so distracted by the moment, that he forgot all about the fact that they were currently headed towards the Primarch, and the fal'Cie behind the mask.

* * *

"So, that's your fal'Cie friend Shu?" Sai clarified.

"Yep," Rei said. "They're a bit eccentric, but they're just an  _adorable_  little goofball when you get to know them."

Sai looked back at Charon and Shu talking behind them. "Hm. They're not exactly what I expected."

"What  _did_  you expect?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, really. I expected them to look like you, maybe."

"Oh, my physical form is something that I choose. I've based this face and body off of humans, studying them over the years as they've evolved and changed. Shu's basically stayed the same. They based their face off of the first human they found and then kept their lion's mane of hair when they shrink down. Quite honestly, it's cute. But I won't tell  _t_ _hem_  that. It's a running thing between us that I always complain about their hair being a mess. It gives us playful sibling rivalry."

"The way you spoke about them…I almost thought…"

"Thought what?"

He shrugged again, this time a little more embarrassed. "That maybe you two were…"

"Were together? I  _thought_  I sensed a hint of jealousy back before you realized Shu had a boyfriend."

"What?! I don't know what you're  _talking_  about!"

"Um-hm."

Shu suddenly threw an arm around each of their shoulders, poking their head between the two of them. "Hey guys! So, I just totally got the jump on Charon, and he's gonna snap out of it at any second, so just keep walking!"

Rei laughed and threw an arm around Shu's waist.

Sai knew that he shouldn't be jealous, and he wasn't jealous about any sort of  _romantic_  relationship between the two of them, not anymore. It was mostly that he knew they had a relationship that  _wasn't_ romantic that he was slightly jealous of. When it comes to family, you can quarrel, you can separate, but the bonds that make you family will always remain, and though families can hate each other, when they face hardships, it's always family that comes first.

When it comes to finding someone you love, that bond takes a lot of time to grow strong, and even at its strongest, the bonds of family are always competing for how strong a bond is, and most of the time, even  _they_  can overshadow a strong bond between lovers. But that wasn't even considering the fact that they were fal'Cie, they were immortal, and though Sai technically wasn't human anymore, it wasn't like the power of a l'Cie made  _him_  immortal too.

However you looked at it, Shu and Rei would be together forever, and Sai…he'd fade out one day, maybe even one day very soon if this l'Cie thing went sideways. Even Shu had fallen for another fal'Cie (and Sai was still baffled by the fact that this is how fal'Cie acted; maybe it was just that fal'Cie from Pulse were different, but Rei  _did_  mention that she and Shu were always the oddballs of their kind) and so they would be together for as long as the two wanted as well.

Sure, it was the idea that things came to an end that made one cherish things, that made everything more important, but seeing how well Shu and Charon got along, he could see them still the same lovey-dovey couple for centuries to come. They were that rare match made in heaven, and Sai couldn't help but be jealous of the idea of having an eternity with your perfect match.

Of course, he knew that it must've been even harder on Rei to think about, as  _she_  was the one who was going to be left without Sai when he eventually died. Surviving isn't always the best option, and he wasn't just concerned about his own feelings, he was concerned about her.

Shu was suddenly pulled away from the two of them by Charon, who spun Shu into his grip, wrapping an arm around their waist and having another clasping Shu's hand like they were dancing. "Don't think I'm gonna let you get away with that," Charon warned, but the looks they were exchanging were those of pure adoration.

Rei chuckled, but saw the look that Sai was giving the two of them. She slipped her hand in his and gave a smile, causing him to mimic her. It wouldn't do any good to worry about it right now. If Rei wasn't going to bring it up, neither would he. They would enjoy what they had at the moment, and worry about the heavy stuff later.

* * *

"So, you worked things out with your father, Hope?" Vanille asked.

He had been catching Vanille and Sazh up on all of the things that they'd missed while they were gone, and they'd reciprocated with their small and easy story of going through the Vile Peaks, the Sunleth Waterscape forest, the mountains and shoreline, all the way to Nautilus before they were captured.

"Sounds like you guys had a big party without us," Sazh said.

Hope chuckled. "A lot of things went down," He agreed.

"I'm glad you worked things out with your dad. And that whole thing with Snow, too."

Hoped nodded. "I was going through a lot. But…I realized I was trying to run from the pain of everything that happened. I knew Snow wasn't to blame for my mom's death, but I needed to blame  _someone_  if I was going to be able to keep going. And with my dad…I never really slowed down to realize how much he loved me. I pushed him away, refused to see anything but my own side of things. Of course, with mom gone, we needed to stick together, but even if she were still here, I know my dad wouldn't have cared for me any less."

He smiled weakly.

"It's odd how all of these bad things had to happen to lead to these revelations. I can't say I'm happy that things turned out the way they did, but either way, I have to accept what I've been given and keep moving forward."

Vanille took his hand. "I  _told_  you things would be okay."

Hope chuckled and nodded. "Yeah. Thanks, Vanille. If it weren't for you, I'd have probably given up a long time ago."

She gave a sad smile and turned to walk forward again, her hands behind her. "I've done some bad things, made a lot of mistakes, and…if I let myself give in to my guilt and regret…I know that I wouldn't be able to go on."

She turned on the balls of her feet, her body language telling a happy and cheerful story while her words said just the opposite.

"But…when things look bleak, I've learned to just keep smiling, you know?"

Hope nodded.

"If you convince yourself that you're okay, then you will be," She continued. "You keep smiling, you push all that darkness away, and you tell yourself you're going to do better. You…look at things from a distance. It won't ever be perfect, but it can get easier. Not always better, but easier."

There was a moment of silence from Hope as he thought about her words and studied her, but a moment later, it was broken as the platform in front of them that Sazh had activated clicked into place.

Vanille instantly changed back to her old self, giggling and grabbing Hope's hand. "Come on! Let's go!"

Hope gave a nervous "Whoa!" as she pulled him faster than he could walk but not exactly a running speed. He couldn't help but wonder how much Vanille was really hiding every time she smiled and giggled like nothing was wrong. Obviously Vanille was plenty mature, but if she had to work so hard to hide that fact, he considered how crushing the guilt had to be.

Hope was mature for his age, as he'd been told many times. That maturity nearly led him to ruin after he lost his mom and became a l'Cie, having his entire life ripped away from him. He barely survived, if it weren't for his vendetta against Snow pushing him through the toughest parts. If Vanille didn't have revenge spurring her on, and was relying only one her own ability to push things down, Hope had to admit that he was impressed.

He had been nervous and awkward when Vanille grabbed his hand, or hugged him, or made any contact that seriously invaded personal space, but he now realized that maybe she gave out her hugs and held hands so freely not always just for the person she was comforting, but also for herself. She needed a hug sometimes, she needed someone to hold her hand and get her through her own demons.

And so this time, he accepted her hand, and let her lead him forward over the bridge. Even as Sazh worked on activating the next platform and the two of them waited behind him, he kept his hand in hers. She hummed to herself, swinging both of her arms back and forth like an impatient child, and he wasn't sure if she even realized that he hadn't made her let go yet.

Either way, he knew that he was going to repay her for all that she'd done for him. Every time she tried too hard to smile, pretending like absolutely nothing was bothering her, he would go along with it, accepting the small gestures, because he knew that she was breaking on the inside. Vanille was his friend, and he wasn't going to let her down.

* * *

"Aw, they beat us!" Shu complained.

Lighting, Fang, and Snow had been in the final group, and they were waiting at the final platform, having been the first group to make it across the room.

"I know, right?" Snow said. "We thought surely, the fal'Cie team would come on top, but when we got here, we realized we'd beaten you. I told you we could've just taken our time."

"Yeah, because we have such better things to do while heading through a military infested room trying to go and capture the Primarch of the government," Lightning said. "Oh, wait, there  _was_  that book that I had planned to read on our way there and I missed out on the chance. Darn it."

Snow blinked. "Was that sarcasm? From  _you?_ "

She rolled her eyes in response and muttered annoyed comments about Snow under her breath that probably wouldn't have been appropriate considering there were children present. Mature children who could cast spells like no one's business, but children nonetheless.

"When you're stuck with Snow on your team, you learn to just keep walking," Fang explained.

"Well, they  _are_  the most powerful of the group strength-wise," Rei admitted.

"Hey, at least we got a close second," Charon said, patting Shu on the shoulder.

Their group had come in just a few seconds before Sazh's group, though Lightning's group had made it there at least three minutes before Rei's.

"So, we ready to do this thing?" Sai asked.

"You never know until you try," Hope said.

"You're gonna wish you  _hadn't_ …" Fang muttered playfully.

"Let's do this thing," Snow urged, pumping a fist.

"Let's go get ourselves a Primarch," Sazh said with less enthusiasm.

Charon blinked, realizing where they were and what they were doing. He stole a glance at Shu, who was bouncing up and down at the idea, though they didn't seem to actually understand what was happening. To them, they were just going in and fighting something, capturing a guy, and the day would be done.

As the others discussed quickly drawn up plans and prepared for a fight, Charon couldn't focus, as he was filled with a sense of dread. He didn't take his eyes off Shu, who was joining in the conversation by throwing out approvals to just smashing the guy in the face, while Rei had to reign them in.

When they all finally decided and went forward, Charon pulled Shu back behind the crowd and kissed him. Shu was thoroughly confused, as they seemed to sense something was wrong, but they weren't going to question it while it was happening.

"What was that for?" They asked.

"For good luck," Charon lied.

Shu wasn't an idiot, despite how they might act, and their face gave away that they knew something was wrong, as they looked at Charon with their worried face that resembled a confused kitten. They even tilted their head slightly to the side, and Charon knew he wasn't gonna last long at this rate.

"Stop doing that!" He snapped, turning away in a fake huff. "Stop being all…adorable. At this rate I'm gonna drag you out of this mission right here and back to our room on the  _Lindblum_."

Shu's confused look broke out into a smile. "Maybe after we're done."

They took Charon's hand and skipped forward after the others. Charon was thankful he managed to get out of  _that_  situation, but he knew his victory was going to be short lived, as Rei pushed open the doors of the bridge and the group of l'Cie ran through.

* * *

Up in what could only be described as an emperor's box in the coliseum version of a ship's bridge, the Primarch was sitting casually in his white chair, the crest of Lindzei above him on the chair's back with Jihl standing at his side. She had regained her temper, knowing that she had to remain confident in the face of her enemies.

Sazh pointed to her accusingly. "Been looking for you, Nabaat!"

The group ran down the ramp and into the large circle of the room, around which the workers were all at their stations (it was seriously just a coliseum). Nabaat stepped forward and jumped off the raised platform, landing quite gracefully for a woman in heels that could announce her presence from a mile away.

As she walked up to confront the group, Sazh was standing at the fore, aiming his pistol at her. She merely smirked and put her hand to her side to draw her fencing baton. "Your Eminence, please escape. I'll cover your retreat."

Quite honestly, her bravery was admirable for a human resident of Cocoon. She  _was_  high in the government, obviously, and not a part of the brainwashed masses, but even as the large group of ten had busted their way through countless troops and monsters even though she had created a perfectly laid-trap for them, she  _still_  faced them confidently with a fencing baton smaller than Lightning's sheathed gunblade. It was clear she knew she wasn't going to make it out of the battle alive, but she knew that she had the skill to stall them.

Her confidence was the main cause for concern, as the others took up defensive battle stances as she pointed her weapon in challenge. All the while, the workers on the bridge didn't make any move to retreat, and some were actually focused more on their jobs than the major fight that was about to go down. That's either serious dedication to their work, or extreme ignorance.

"Why don't you leave, Jihl?" The Primarch said calmly. "Or rather,  _take_  your leave?  _Humans_  have no business here."

Her eyes flashed with panic and confusion. "What?"

She dropped her weapon from the intruders and turned back to the Primarch.

"Your Eminence-!"

"Mataecharonsan."

If you blinked, you might've missed it. In an instant, Charon had his Wakizashi stabbed through Nabaat's turned back. Even he seemed surprised by it, as he pulled his sword out and Jihl fell to the deck dead.

"Charon…?" Shu muttered nervously.

Charon breathed hard, looking down at the fallen woman, but not turning back.

Dysley rose from his seat, quite literally, as he floated up high above his throne, chuckling lightly, before raising his staff and having it glow. Six orbs of magic flashed into existence, swirling around it and shrinking as the energy coming from the staff came together into the concentrated orbs.

 _Now_  the staff members of the bridge took notice of the commotion, just before the Primarch swung his staff, releasing the orbs of magic to shoot out at the humans who barely had time to scream before they were struck and killed, let alone have time to run.

"Dysley!" Snow shouted in anger.

The orbs regenerated, and Dysley swung the final group up to strike the domed ceiling, destroying the panes and releasing the bridge to the sunlight above.

"Monster!" Snow continued. "People are  _not_  yours to use!"

He looked down from his floating position and began to sink, his robes floating as he sank to the coliseum circle with a confident face. "What else does one do with tools?"

Snow charged up angrily with a battle cry, but as he tried to punch the Primarch, he was thrown back as a barrier appeared right in his face and repelled his attack. Everyone turned to him as he landed beside them, taking up defensive positions.

"Snow!" Hope muttered, kneeling down to help him while Vanille cried out in surprise.

"Cocoon is a factory," Dysley continued. "Built by fal'Cie. A factory for the mass production of human thralls."

Snow began to pick himself up. "Not anymore, it's not!"

Rei noticed the bird Menrva take flight from it's perched position. That meant that  _this_  was the fal'Cie that had been watching her before. This was Barthandelus. The one who'd brought her here, trapped her in Anima's Vestige for centuries after the war. How had she not realized it? She should've been able to sense him! Her powers were weakened, but they'd recovered by now! The moment they flew  _close_  to this ship, she should've known. Heck, she should've been able to see that he was a fal'Cie from the first moment she saw him on the news. Sure, the first time she'd seen him was on some new report back when she was still recovering, but she'd seen him on the broadcast during the escape from the Bresha Ruins,  _and_  the one that Cid had shown her during the briefing for the  _Palamecia_  mission.

She hadn't crossed paths with Barthandelus in a long time, back before Cocoon had even been  _created_. Even then, their encounters were short, and she doubted that the King of Pulse even knew she and Shu existed. Just because they hadn't met within so long didn't mean she was somehow unable to sense, him, right?

"Impossible…"

"Is he…?" Shu muttered, having saw and recognized the bird as well.

"He brought me here in the Vestige," She said. "What the heck does he  _want?_ "

"Charon, what the  _hell_  is going on?!" Shu demanded.

Shu stepped forward angrily and grabbed his wrist. "Mataecharonsan, answer me! Explain!"

"I work for him," Charon blurted, though his face looked strained, as though he hadn't meant for it to come out.

"Yeah, but you don't  _like_  it! I know you don't!"

"Mataecharonsan," Barthandelus said firmly, and Charon suddenly tensed, inhaling sharply before shoving Shu away, a look of surprise on his face, but also grim acceptance.

He was used to this. He was doing as he was commanded. He held his blade out, his face showing he wasn't going to hold back.

"Charon…?" Shu whimpered.

"Don't," Charon begged. "Just don't. Do  _not_  move."

Shu looked to Barthandelus and gritted his teeth. "Why you little-!"

They made to move forward, but Rei grabbed them and held them back. "Shu, hold on-"

"What did you do to Charon, you bastard?!"

The Primarch smiled. "Nothing he didn't agree to."

"Liar! He would  _never_ _-!_ "

"Mataecharonsan?"

"I did," Charon said. "It's the truth. I agreed of my own free will."

Shu froze. "You… _no_. No, you wouldn't do that!"

"He did it  _long_  before he'd ever met  _you_ , fal'Cie," Barthandelus sneered. "You don't know  _anything_  about your so-called ' _friend_.'"

Shu looked to Charon, who closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them, he refused to look Shu in the eye. "I'm sorry."

"Mataecharonsan," Barthandelus snapped, and Charon winced at the forcefulness within the harsh tone. "I am fully aware of your… _relations_  with this fal'Cie. I am not so foolish as to overlook the changes you've gone through, the consequences this shift in loyalties might cause. And so I have brought to you a reminder of your incentive."

He clenched his hand into a fist before pushing it forward, as though he was tugging a rope from behind him. Up above in the 'emperor's box' of the room, the loud clanking of chains got everyone's attention, along with the small wail from a woman. It was quickly cut off, as she tried to keep herself silent as to not draw attention, but it was too late.

She looked like a vampire or a ghost, her skin pale and lips pale and cracked from dehydration of some sort. Her eyes had dark circles under them like she hadn't slept and was extremely tired, and her hair even seemed to have prematurely grayed from black.

Charon seemingly went through the five phases of I-can't-believe-it-no-this-isn't-happening-great-this-is-happening-I-can't-do-this-I-have-to-do-this-why-me? He looked angered at first, then defiant for a moment, then back to grim acceptance.

"Charon, who is that?" Shu asked.

He was silent for a moment, before closing his eyes. "That's Styx."

She looked down at the group, before her eyes locked onto Shu. Her eyes widened just slightly, and Shu's fal'Cie hearing allowed them to hear her whispered words. "It's you…"


	24. When Shu was Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "So, how long have you been here?"
> 
> She looked up in thought. "Hm…I'm not sure. My river goes where it goes, and I go with it. Sometimes it shifts and I don't even realize it. What about you?"
> 
> "I'm lost. I don't know where I am. I was looking for my sister after she went to get me a present, but when I went for her, I somehow ended up here."
> 
> "Oh, that's so sad! Don't worry. I'll get you home."

_Shu wandered alone, trying to find Rei. They were lost._

_How did this even happen? They were just tending to their plants as Rei went off to take a bath at the springs - which she insisted she wanted to do alone for some reason. Shu knew their sister, and expected that she was actually going to get them a surprise. Though they knew the surprise was coming, the suspense was almost too much to handle._

_It was after a long while that Shu realized Rei should've been back. They asked their plants which way Rei had gone, and then went to follow her. The plants said that there was no trace of her within Shu's range, and so they kept following the path. It wasn't long before the plants started to disperse, becoming less frequent as the water supplies in the area Shu was going to were lower._

_Shu realized that they weren't heading to the springs, and instead found themself in an entirely knew place. Taking the plants' word that they were going in the right direction, Shu continued forward, hoping to run into Rei if they were following the path she had taken. The water in the area was extremely low, and with the desert plants surrounding them, Shu began to feel very thirsty._

_They found themself surrounded by a desert, rocks small and big - as in big enough to look like the makings of a canyon big - all around. The plants in the area were dried, some dead, and some barely hanging on. Shu suddenly felt very dehydrated because of that, and realized that they needed to find water, they needed to find Rei._

_But as time went by and they were walking forward, loosing hope with each step that they were going to find their sister, or at least a body of water, they considered turning back. They attempted to do just that, but as they walked forward for a long period of time, they realized that they weren't familiar with their surroundings. They'd only gotten more lost. The plants couldn't help them, as they were about as talkative as corpses or very old people that didn't have the energy to speak, as that was exactly what they were._

_Worry surged through them, and they began to panic. What were they supposed to do? Rei had always been there for Shu whenever things went wrong. She always seemed to know what to do. Whenever something bad happened, she would always show up and save the day. They wanted Rei to appear and hug them, tell them it was all over._

_Shu begged the plants to tell them any landmark that might be helpful, preferably where a river was. The plants were slightly passive aggressive or just uninterested, but finally one nice one gave a hint that a river was said to have sprung a distance away. Shu took the plant, pulling it from the ground with a bit of dirt for its roots and then had it lead the way._

_After an eternity of walking, finally, Shu heard the sounds of a river. They rushed forward, now extremely thirsty to the point of insanity, and set the plant at beside them as they kneeled at the banks of a river. Shu was so desperate that they just plain dunked their head in the water and drank all they could, using their mouth and just straight up absorbing the water through their skin._

_The plant beside Shu began to grow much healthier just from Shu's relief at getting their thirst quenched, and it rooted itself at the riverbank before growing a stem and then a small flower. The flower was extremely happy, and Shu was so relieved that they had gotten their drink that the flower began multiplying all around the banks. It was a beautiful blue and purple flower that Shu had never seen before, but it was magnificent._

_All the new plants started talking and chatting in awe about their new home and how they had all come to existence, but Shu began to realize how they were still lost and alone. They loved their plants, sure, but they loved their sister too. They wanted Rei back. They wanted to go home. They wanted this to all be over._

_They broke down sobbing next to the banks of the river. They wanted to know what to do, but without Rei, they were clueless. They were just a child, reliant upon their sister to look after them. There weren't even any other fal'Cie that Shu could sense around to ask for directions. Even if there were, none of the other fal'Cie were the talkative type, just going about their business, barely acknowledging that Shu was talking to them._

_What were they supposed to do?!_

_"Why are you crying?"_

_Shu surged back, trying to wipe the tears away. If there was a threat, they didn't want it to know they were upset. Then again, when Shu processed what the voice had said, they figured it was too late to hide it._

_"Who's there?" Shu demanded._

_The river in front of them began to darken to black, like some ink begun to form. It began to bulge upwards, and then a girl's torso formed, her head and arms coming into shape as well, and then everything solidifying from the water into a solid person._

_Her skin was a pretty shade of pink, reminding Shu of some of the flowers that they liked to talk to, and her black hair flowed like silk. She was wearing a black dress that flowed down her body, shimmering like the flowing river, before seamlessly transforming into the river around her. She was definitely young, similar to Shu's age, and Shu realized that she had to be the fal'Cie in charge of this river._

_"I'm Styx," She said. "Who are you?"_

_"S-Shu."_

_Shu sniffled, and though they now had company (other than the plants) they broke down again, hugging their knees and sobbing hard. They were surrounded by unfamiliar things, scary people and they couldn't even be left to sob in peace. All they wanted was Rei. She always handled the meeting of new people, and protected Shu from those that might be harmful. Shu didn't know what to do, and now that someone was here, they'd be expected to talk to them._

_"Why are you sad?" The river fal'Cie asked._

_"I want my sister," Shu choked out. "I wanna go home!"_

_"Who's your sister?"_

_"Rei. Hotareichan."_

_"I've never heard of her. What's your name?"_

_Shu sniffled. "Asushunamir. Shu."_

_She girl glided forward, putting her arms onto the riverbank and leaning her head on it so that she could look at Shu. "I'm Styxcaliaja. But you can call me Styx. What are these creatures you've brought to my banks?"_

_Shu looked to the blue and purple flowers that had grown all around. "Oh, they're_ _…they led me here. I was very thirsty, you see. I'm sorry for drinking without your permission."_

_"It's okay. It kinda tickled, but my waters are infinite as long as I live."_

_"Is the river your_ _…body? Did I just…?"_

_"Oh, no! I can feel everything in my river, but it's not my true form or anything. This is my true form."_

_She shifted, her body molding back into water before taking the shape of a serpent. When she solidified again, she was a sea-serpent, her body small and thin, but also pretty intimidating. She had black and blue scales all along her skin, and as she dunked underwater to show off the rest of her body, she showed that she had multiple fins. Her skin was subtly textured with a metallic sheen, indicating she was a fal'Cie, but they mimicked scales so flawlessly, that Shu had to second guess themself a couple times. The length of her torso was much longer than Shu had expected, as it seemed to go on forever before they finally saw the final tail find, decorated with the signature black and blue look, but very elegant._

_She popped her head up again, and then shifted back into her little girl form once more. "Do you like it?" She asked eagerly._

_"It's pretty," Shu said truthfully. "I_ love _it."_

_"Yeah!"_

_She glided around the river while throwing her arms up. She did a couple circles, going from Shu's side of the river to the other a couple times, before she returned to Shu._

_"People don't usually like my true form," She admitted. "They run away or hiss at me, depending on what they are."_

_"I get that response too."_

_Shu transformed, their body turning green and then dissolving into a conglomeration of plants that had been densely packed to make up their body. There were mostly green vines, covered in flowers of all kinds, as well as their golden curly hair remaining. The plants began to shift, showing that they too had the mechanical shimmers of metal indicating that they were still a fal'Cie, but it was just as seamless as Styx's transformation had been._

_As Shu's body shifted, just a few things got moved out of place, hands and feet shifting, legs changing angles, a tail sprouting, and their overall body growing thicker and more muscular. When the transformation finished, Shu's human form had been replaced by a plant/metal lion cub, a small mane having grown where Shu's hair had been, except it went down their body to about halfway down their torso._

_They hopped around to show off like Styx had, although they weren't as big or long as Styx's serpent had been. Shu felt self-conscious for a moment, realizing that they weren't as fancy as a serpent had been, as they believed Styx was absolutely amazing, and Shu was just lackluster at best._

_Although when they looked over,_ _Styx was beaming. "Aw, you're_ adorable!  _I_ love _it!"_

_Shu quickly transformed back and then laid on their stomach next to the riverbank in front of Styx. "So, how long have you been here?"_

_She looked up in thought. "Hm_ _…I'm not sure. My river goes where it goes, and I go with it. Sometimes it shifts and I don't even realize it. What about you?"_

_"I'm lost. I don't know_ where _I am. I was looking for my sister after she went to get me a present, but when I went for her, I somehow ended up here."_

_"Oh, that's so sad! Don't worry. I'll get you home. Where are you from?"_

_"The plains. There's this big field. What's it called? Archie-light Step?"_

_"Archylte Steppe?"_

_"Yeah!"_

_"Hm_ _…well, I know the location, but not where we are relative to it. I'll have my river search for it. In the meantime, tell me about these flowers!"_

_Shu looked over to them. "Well, I've never encountered them before. They're giving themselves names, but they're kind doesn't have an overall name."_

_"Ooo, can I name them?! Would that be okay? Are you allowed to do that?"_

_"They look to me for names, so sure."_

_"Hmmm_ _…"_

_She put on a concentrated face, tapping her forehead as she thought. Then, she gasped. "I know! Hyacinthus! They're Hyacinthus! Hyacinth, singular."_

_"Where'd you come up with that name?"_

_"There's this person that I really,_ really _love. He's always looking out for me, and loving me, and he's perfect! I named them after him. Hyacinthaja. He'll be so excited when I tell him the news!"_

_"They seem to like it," Shu reported. "Okay. Hyacinthus it is, then."_

_"Yea!"_

* * *

_The two of them had spent time talking to each other. Shu had all but forgotten their distress._

_It was hours before Shu realized that the sun had set, but Styx had got their attention again and they lost track of time again. They laughed, and told stories, and Styx had taught Shu how to swim, albeit they could never be as good as her. In return, Shu taught Styx how to properly raise a plant, making sure that the water levels given weren't too much and weren't too little. They taught her how to sense how much water a plant needed, and even how she could communicate with them to her own extent._

_"Did he say that he likes bottles?" Styx guessed._

_"He said he likes water."_

_She beamed. "Aw! That's so_ sweet! _Thank you!"_

_She giggled and cooed to the plants all her adoration, before suddenly, she froze and tensed up._

_"What's wrong?" Shu asked._

_"I think I found your Rei!" She announced. "There's a person shouting for a 'Shu' near the banks of my river elsewhere."_

_Shu jumped to their feet. "Where? What do they look like?!"_

_"A huntress, black hair, brown eyes, definitely a woman, strong, and I_ _…wait…yes! She's a fal'Cie!"_

_"That_ has _to be Rei! She_ always _goes out in a hunter's outfit, and I think that's what she currently looks like!"_

_"I shall guide her over."_

_Styx disappeared in a splash, her body popping like a water balloon, and Shu paced with excitement, looking back and forth down the riverbanks for which direction Rei would be coming from. Finally, they saw a speck in the distance and bolted._

_"Rei! Rei, I'm here!"_

_The speck started running towards them and as they grew closer, it was no doubt their sister. As they approached, they only sped up until they came together and Rei engulfed them in a hug, kneeling down because Shu was only half her size._

_"Shu! Don't you dare run away like that again!"_

_"I went looking for you. The plants, they said-"_

_"They lied. I had them lie to surprise you_ _…gods, I'll never do that again. I was so worried. I asked where the plants had led you. It's not their fault they didn't know leading you into the middle of nowhere was bad. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry_ _…"_

_Rei was crying into their shoulder, and Shu couldn't help but sob in relief too. It was over. Rei was here. She could take them home._

_"Oh, wait! Did you meet Styx?"_

_Rei sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Yes. She was very excited to see me, even though I had yet to meet her before."_

_"Styx!" Shu called into the river._

_The river didn't respond._

_"Styx?"_

_"She's gone to her family," Rei reported. "But she said to follow her upstream to get home."_

_"Oh…" Shu muttered sadly._

_They kneeled by the river and pulled a Hyacinth from the banks. They kept it alive with their powers and decided they'd grow one at their home as well, to remember Styx._

_Rei guided Shu down, well_ up _rather, the river, and eventually they reached the Steppe again where their surroundings were more familiar._

_Shu looked back to the river as they left, Hyacinthus sprouting along the banks where Shu had walked._

_"Bye, Styx," They said sadly._

* * *

"You're the little lion," Styx muttered. "Shu."

Shu blinked. "You're…you're older, but…h-how do you know her, Charon?"

"How do  _you_  know her?" Charon asked.

"I met her when I was little. She saved me."

"You gave me flowers," Styx said. "You made my river beautiful."

"The Hyacinthus," Shu remembered.

"The Hyacinthus?" Charon asked. " _You_  gave them to her?"

"And I named them after my brother," Styx said.

"The loving brother that will do anything for his sister," Barthandelus mused. "Now you see before you the result of this loving relationship. So you see, Mataecharonsan has sworn his oath to me for this woman's safety long ago, and his ' _friendship_ ' is nothing but an illusion used to keep his cover within your ranks."

"You…you never…you never meant it…did you?" Shu muttered. "It was all just nothing to you!"

"No, Shu, I-!"

"Of course it was," Barthandelus interrupted. "His heart is unable to feel such trivial emotions, unlike you  _flawed_  fal'Cie. It was simple for him to understand what needed to be done if he wished to gain your trust. Of course, this  _did_  risk his  _own_  logic becoming corrupted, as he was forced to adapt himself to this new life. He was very careful, all these centuries, to keep his affiliations a secret. He sided with who I instructed, and made sure never to fail. After all, one slip up, and his sister's fate would be sealed."

He flicked his hand again, and this time, it was Styx herself who writhed on her own, breathing heavily as her skin cracked. She was a river fal'Cie, Shu realized. He was drying her out.

"Stop it!" Charon shouted. "I'll do what you want, but we had a deal!"

He dropped his hand, and she fell limp. "Loyalty is an interesting thing. It will make one do the most intriguing of things, go against their own morals as well as logic in the name of their allies."

"It's not ' _l_ _oyalty,_ ' you moron," Rei hissed. "It's  _love_."

"Whatever you wish to call it. But indeed, it is love - love for this woman here."

Shu couldn't move. They took shaky breaths, looking between Charon and Styx. His old friend had known Charon? And they were… _together_  before Charon had ever met Shu. Why would Charon even…why would he play with them like this? If Charon needed their trust, he didn't have to go so far. He could've just been their friend. He didn't need to reciprocate Shu's feelings, make them believe they had his care, his  _love_ , if all he was going to do was reveal that he was with someone else, doing everything for someone else. If he was just going to rip it all away in the end,  _consciously_ , why would Charon go so far if he didn't need to?

Shu had just been a game to him.

"Y-You…" Shu could barely speak through their shaky breaths as they held back tears. "You BASTARD!"

They charged forward, drawing their sword to attack.

"Ereshkigala," Barthandelus said firmly.

Shu suddenly stopped in their tracks, tensing up before they fell forward, their sword clanging to the deck beside them. Their eyes had become blank, and their breathing was labored, as though they were struggling desperately to regain control of their body again. They were terrified. They didn't understand what was happening. They couldn't move, they could barely breathe, and they couldn't force their way back in control.

" ** _Rei, help me_** ** _…_** " They begged. " ** _Please, help me…I can't move_** _ **…**_ "

Even Charon seemed surprised by the development, gasping and trying to hide his fear at what was happening. " ** _Please no_** _ **…not you, Shu.**_ "

"As I said," Barthandelus continued. "Loyalty proves to be a great weakness of even you fal'Cie."

"What did you do to Shu?!" Rei demanded.

"A bargain for the one they love. Perhaps they  _do_  have a bond. Both allow loyalty to remain their weakness. It merely took the capture of my dear Styx for Mataecharonsan, and as for Ereshkigala-"

"Me," Rei realized. "You used me to make Shu make a deal. What the hell did you do?"

"I merely told the truth. The fal'Cie was easy to break, after all. Drastic measures didn't need to be taken."

"What did you do? Mentally  _torture_  them?"

"You were freed unmarred with little threat, as loyalty to Ereshkigala now forces you to choose your options. If you wish for the fal'Cie to recover, you will have to follow my commands as well."

"You monster!" Sai shouted. "You can't just manipulate people like this!"

"We won't let you!" Snow declared. "This ends now!"

"What can mere  _men_  do?" Barthandelus continued. "Without our help,  _death_  is all of which you're capable. You saw the fools. A mindless mob, drunk on fear of a few l'Cie."

"And who's fault is  _that?_ " Sai shouted. "All you've ever done is  _brainwash_  them! If all they've been told is how  _bad_  a l'Cie is, how would they know better?! You can't just judge them when  _you're_  the one that's  _making_  them afraid of l'Cie!"

Lightning stepped forward, her weapon drawn. "If they only knew…a l'Cie was the one filling their glasses!"

"L'Cie?" Barthandelus chuckled, as though he had been waiting for the chance to show off. "You mean  _me?_ Oh child, perish the thought."

He began to float up once more, and the bird Menrva circled in. Barthandelus raised his staff, energy shimmering, as the bird collided with its point, and a flash of light blinded the area.

"I am  _more_  than that!"

When the light faded, it revealed a towering, bronze mechanical being with gold lining, alien markings visible on his 'skin,' along with the identifiable brand of Lindzei, and four upside down face-masks grafted onto the sides of his head as adornments, their mouths opening and closing almost as though they were trying to say something, but their faces blank. In the center of the four heads and the armor around them, his main face was visible, larger than the others and clearly more defined, his neck hunched over to end, and at about where his neck and torso might connect had he had more of a body, resting on a base hidden behind his head.

The metal plates that covered his main face split, revealing he had a snake-like throat with gills, his eyes lacking pupils, with an eerie grin of sharp, dagger-like teeth. At either side, his thick arms ended in large hands, sharp metal claws on each of his fingers.

" _My name is Barthandelus. Voice of the Sanctum, and Lord-Sovereign of the Cocoon fal'Cie. Your kind feared the darkness, so_ _…_ _we gave you light. You_ begged _us for the Purge, and did it not come to pass? Now you spurn our counsel? You must learn your place!"_

The l'Cie began to back away, looking up at the massive fal'Cie in shock. Rei pulled Shu back and out of the way, the fear in their eyes evident despite their clouded eyes. She set them down on the ground, knowing that Shu might not like what they saw, but they'd be even worse off if they were in the dark about everything. She laid them down gently on the deck out of the arena area, allowing their head to face the scene.

Rei walked up and drew her swords, her eyes beginning to glow pure white. "You wanna play that game? Fine!"

" _Mataecharonsan, you will handle her,_ " Barthandelus ordered.

Charon sighed and stepped forward. "Careful, Hotareichan. You and I break out our true forms and brawl here and we'll bring down the entire ship before you and your friends have a  _chance_  of fighting for your lives."

His eyes darkened to pure black as each of their forms began to swirl with energy. Rei gritted her teeth, but she knew that he was right. Even with the roof of the bridge gone, there wasn't going to be a way for her to get out to a safe place for a fal'Cie fight while they were on a human ship so high in the air. No matter how well this thing was built, there was no way it would stand up to the slaughter that would happen between the two of them in their true forms.

Reluctantly, she let her energy fade, and Charon did the same. "Then it's you and me."

He nodded and flicked his Wakizashi. "You and me."


	25. Battle in the Sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She came in fast as a comet. She flew down to strike, nearly blinding the area from her bright light, and the ship shook from the impact. Her power exploded outwards, shaking the ship, and then, it was silent. The dust began to clear, and even Barthandelus had gone quiet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to another chapter of battles that take up half the chapter!
> 
> Yeah, so fair warning, a lot of this is just the battle with Barthandelus (not a very hard boss if you're prepared and you know the trick to beating him).
> 
> Hopefully you can at least have it in your heart to make it to the actual dialogue, though.
> 
> Enjoy! :)

When the two fal'Cie charged, they swung their swords to clash, Rei's golden blade meeting Charon's Wakizashi. The two of them shoved each other away, each sliding across the deck from the force, before they both jumped up and out of the bridge up into the open sky, clashing high in the winds.

The sun blinded Sai to seeing what happened after that, but they disappeared from view, the sounds of swords clashing able to be heard growing fainter, the wind muffling every grunt and shout before they were too far away to be heard.

Meanwhile, the group of l'Cie started attacking Barthandelus. The four heads, surrounded by armor that connected them to Barthandelus's main body began casting spells, Fire, Thunder, Blizzard, and Water from left to right (from the l'Cie's perspective). Hope and Sazh began throwing their Synergist buffs, Vanille and Fang worked for their Saboteur debuffs, while Lightning, Snow, and Sai each went for the four extra sidekicks that were tossing their spells (Pauldrons on the outside and Ailettes on the inside).

Barthandelus used Mystic Aura to cast Faith and Haste on the attacked Pauldron and Ailettes that the three of them were taking on, and they knew that they had to work quickly. Hope and Vanille kept up with the healing as damage was gained and then healed at quick rates. When they could, Fang and Sazh began to join in the offensive attack party, splitting up to help in attacking as well as helping build the stagger of the Pauldrons and Ailettes.

As Lightning and Sai took down the Right Pauldron, Barthandelus suddenly lifted his head, electricity charging up before he surged a wave of magic through the remaining adornment heads with Magic Amplification. Suddenly, the buffed up side-kicks started casting level-two magic, Thundara, Blizzara, and Watera. Hope and Vanille went full-time Medics, and the others worked quickly to dispatch the remaining heads, knowing that they needed to take them out first or Barthandelus would remain extremely protected from magic and physical attacks alike.

Barthandelus began using Mystic Aura again, as well as Enchanted Veil, and Vanille and Fang decided to switch Saboteur in order to Dispel some of the effects and reinflict some of their bad ones instead. They took out the Right Ailette as well, giving a point of leeway where Hope caught up on all the healing and Vanille her debuffing so their powerhouse spells could come into play. Barthandelus performed Magic Amplification again, turning the Left Pauldron and Left Ailette spells to the third tier of magic, now able to cast Blizzaga and Waterga, but slowing down their attack rate to charge said spells.

As such, Hope and Vanille now had a much easier time keeping up with the rate of attacks, and their combined healing was more than enough to heal up any severe damage fast enough that they could get back to their attacking. Here and there came the occasional sudden blast of water from a Waterga spell, as well as the explosion of an ice formation and then breaking down from a Blizzaga spell, but the Left Ailette was soon to go, and after that, it was simply a matter of battering the Left Pauldron with all the attacks and spells they could get, not even bothering to Dispel the Faith, Haste, Protect, and Shell that Barthandelus had given it.

As Barthandelus's final armor piece disappeared, he surged with power, now less protected, but seemingly more free to do his own attacking. He shook his head slightly to get it into a solid position, before his eyes began to shimmer with a blue tint and he unleashed a Thanatosian Smile. His mechanical face suddenly split open to reveal a myriad of blasters, all charging up, sending out blue targeting beams, and then shooting out blasts straight at the center of the group, consequently hitting Fang, Snow, and Lightning at the center of the hit, with Vanille and Sai getting some of the attacks at the edges.

The damage was quickly healed up by Vanille and Hope before they went on the offensive again. Barthandelus used Baptism in Ruin, casing a series of Ruin spells at everyone, before ending in a Ruinga, the blasting sending some who weren't prepared into the air. The healing process was quick and easy, the biggest concern being Hope and Sazh had to renew the buffs that were beginning to wear off from the fight going on so long.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rei and Charon clashed in the skies. Rei held her blades out, and they began to hover, following the movements of her hands as she swung them like extensions of her arm. Charon was quick with his Wakizashi, blocking her fast attacks, and swinging his blade to send out a wave of cutting energy that sliced through the air. Rei held up her swords and blocked, her power surging through the weapons until they split, each of her blades separating into five golden swords and five silver ones. They began to float around her, coming together at her back and fanning out to imitate a pair of wings.

She surged forward, her swords following a wave-like pattern, each swinging around to attack from multiple angles, forcing Charon back in order to avoid her. She aimed the swords all at him, each of them sending out beams of energy that started going wide before closing in on Charon. He maneuvered through the air to avoid the beams, but they moved around and followed him in an erratic pattern. Charon managed to make his way closed, before swinging his sword, aiming to strike Rei's shoulder, as he couldn't bring himself to kill her.

But it was unnecessary, as when he brought his sword up to strike, all of her swords surged in front of his, lining up in a fan-like style to created a shield that blocked him easily. She threw her arm out and the fan of swords mimicked it, throwing Charon back with surprising force for the weapons that were merely floating of their own power. They came out of their locked positions and spread around Rei as she floated, defending her as well as ready to make an offensive move at her command.

Charon tossed his Wakizashi up before spinning in the air and kicking it towards her as it came back down. Her swords pulled together to create a barrier, but meanwhile Charon pulled back his jacket and slid his hand down his belt, grabbing a handful of his knives in each hand. He threw them out and they all went in separate directions, taking up positions around the two of them, equally distanced to create an orb.

He disappeared, reappearing at a random Kozuka and then charging in to strike. Rei turned her blades around to block him as she swept past. He disappeared and then reappeared at another random blade, flying in to strike again. Rei blocked him again, but he disappeared, reappearing with his momentum and charging in once more. He continued this process, his speed increasing and building each time, Rei had to block with all of her blades, before she summoned a barrier that began absorbing the attacks.

She waited a good deal of time for the damage to build up, her bubble of protection being thrown around from the force of the attacks at this point. She managed to center herself each time, braced for the impacts that were pounding on her barrier like rain with heavy force of Charon practically striking with every blade at the same time.

Then, she flung her arms and legs out, her blades expanding and throwing the barrier out as well. "Reflega!"

It popped like a bubble, but one with the force of a hurricane, the barrier splitting up into small blades of energy, sweeping across the sky and hitting Charon with the force of every attack he'd put into the barrier in the first place. Even as he was unable to continue his Warp-Striking, the attacking energy followed him, slicing and dicing in small energy blades that didn't look like anything more than popping bubbles. Charon couldn't block them, as they only popped into existence to slice him and then disappeared.

Rei held her hand out, and this time, Shu's blade came to her. She held it up and it began to split, five swords being produced, a sixth being the one remaining in her hand. She held the final one up and the five blades began to spin around the sixth, building energy before she tossed her one blade forward, the other five surging past it to strike Charon first. The Reflega spell was still dealing damage from all the attacks Charon had hit it with, and the five swords each struck him, the sixth dealing an explosive final hit, sending Charon back down into the ship.

Rei summoned Shu's six swords back to her, the five blades circling around her along with her ten wing-blades, and the sixth of Shu's in her hand once more.

* * *

Barthandelus glowed golden with stagger, and the attackers went full offensive. Vanille renewed her Deprotect and Deshell, along with Imperil, Hope gave a final heal for good measure, and they everyone went offensive, throwing spells, slashes, bullets, and punches. The fal'Cie was resilient, but they managed to do a good deal of damage before suddenly Barthandelus raised his head before lowering it indo a defensive stance, his arms at his sides closed like fists as lights on his torso - the parts connecting his arms to his neck and 'body' - began to charge with a blue light. The stagger disappeared, a loud whirring of charging energy could be hear, and Barthandelus quivered as his energy began to grow.

Hope renewed his protective buffs just in case, Vanille healed everyone to full health, and, unsure of what else to really do, they began attacking with all they had. At one point, it almost looked like he was about to unleash the attack, or they'd killed him, as Barthandelus grunted loudly in pain and the aura that had been building up around him flashed, dissipating into the air and forcing him to begin charging once more.

When he'd charged his power again, the lights that had been building energy exploded, shooting outwards like missiles and striking with Destrudo, a pair of the orbs for every person and as they exploded on impact, they sometimes hit those that were standing too close together an extra time. It hit them, but it was survivable. Yet, right afterward, Barthandelus steadied his head again and the healers quickly went to work before they were hit with a Thanatosian Smile straight afterwards.

Luckily, Vanille and Hope both had Cura abilities, able to heal the group all at once together, and making sure they survived. After that, it was a rinse and repeat process, throwing on buffs and debuffs, keeping healed when Barthandelus's damage added up, working to stagger the fal'Cie, dealing with the Destrudo attack and dealing enough hits to keep it survivable, recovering before Thanatosian Smile right afterwards, and wailing on him once more. They even managed to stagger him even after he had begun the Destrudo attack, causing him to have to restart the charging process  _twice_  because of the amount of damage done.

Barthandelus was strong, he kept on going for longer than anything else they'd face. Heck, Anima they had taken out back when they were still  _humans_. Sure, she had been weakened from being in stasis for so long, but Barthandelus was taking on an even larger group than Anima, all being l'Cie, not human, and with pretty strong and trained abilities by this point.

Then, suddenly, Charon came flying in, hitting the deck hard from a blast that had come from outside. He had been cut up pretty badly, a silver liquid that must've been the equivalent of fal'Cie blood pouring out of numerous cuts. He was charred from blasts of energy, and his Kozuka came flying in from where he'd come from, many of them missing, as they had been thrown in one big clump, but a good deal digging into his skin and piercing him all across his body.

"You lying, backstabbing, manipulating, traitor!"

Rei came flying in fast, her fifteen swords swirling around her and glowing white with her power, her final shimmering with an aurora of color as it built up the most energy.

"You will pay!"

She came in fast as a comet. She flew down to strike, nearly blinding the area from her bright light, and the ship shook from the impact. Her power exploded outwards, shaking the ship, and then, it was silent. The dust began to clear, and even Barthandelus had gone quiet.

Charon took shaky breaths. He was in pain, he was quite honestly terrified - of Rei, of his death, of the attack that had come straight at him full force without mercy, yes. But that wasn't the main reason. He was alive. And Rei hadn't held back.

All of her blades clanged to the ground, the eight new blades she'd summoned turning to light and disappearing. Shu's sixth blade fell out of her grip as well, and the five blades that had split from it turned to light as well, reappearing on the original blade to make it one again.

Rei was frozen, but she took shallow breaths. She wasn't terrified like Charon, though. Tears fell from her eyes. Everything was gone in an instant, she realized. And she wasn't afraid for herself, for what came next for her.

She was just sad. She'd failed her sibling again. She'd let down Sai, too. She hadn't even been able to finish one simple task. She'd come so close. She had done nothing but be worthless.

"I'm sorry," She choked out, but her throat was filling with purple blood.

Charon pulled his Zanmato free of her stomach, and scrambled back as she collapsed on the deck. His hand trambled. No, no, no…! He hadn't meant to kill her…!

Zanmato pulsed in his hand, sensing his unease, and Charon quickly shoved it back into its sheath before it went rogue. He didn't want to touch the blade, the sheath at his side practically stinging him, hurting him more than the Kozuka buried throughout his body.

Shu tried to move. They tried screaming, aloud and mentally, but Rei wouldn't answer. Her mind was fading away too, and when Shu couldn't sense her anymore, they tried to move their body desperately, but nothing worked. They wanted to sob, they wanted to scream, they wanted to get to her, try and help her, heal her. But all they could do was watch, tears flowing from their eyes, but no muscle able to move, and no other indication of how broken they had become inside.

Charon saw it. From across the room, pulling out his Kozuka with his trembling hands. He caught a glimpse of Shu, and he couldn't move anymore. Shu had been searching for Rei the entire time that he'd known them. Their interactions had only ever been filled with love and care for each other, and even Charon had grown fond of her.

Now she was dead.

It was stupid to think about, but Charon realized that she hadn't gotten the chance to give the 'Protective sister' speech to him about Shu. He knew that he might have to face the other end of that threat eventually when they found out about his oath to Barthandelus, but hell, he didn't really know what to expect. Rei seemed like such a kind and pacifistic person, just a loving fal'Cie that wanted to get her sibling home and live a life away from the wars between Cocoon and Pulse.

But she had almost killed him. She was protective of Shu, and he'd broken both of their hearts. Charon had been genuinely terrified for his life. He wished this wasn't how things happened. He wished he'd never fallen in love with Shu, that he'd never cared for them or Rei in the first place. He knew what he was getting into when he did, but that didn't make it hurt any less. But he'd rather have Rei raging at him than have her…dead.

But he sensed her death. He sensed her life fading away leaving nothing.

He saw Shu's eyes water, but their face couldn't even move enough to properly cry.

This isn't what Charon wanted. Why did he have to choose between everything he'd ever loved? How many more years of these did he have to go through?

Barthandelus laughed as his face split open for a Thanatosian Smile. Everyone was snapped out of their daze, and angrier than ever. Barthandelus raised his head, bracing himself once more as he charged up his energy for another Destrudo, but after a quick heal from Hope, everyone went on the offensive. The stagger was quick, the damage immense.

Sai landed a final stabbing blow into the fal'Cie's eyes, one sword each. Rei had given him the swords. He thought of all the things he'd wanted to show her, all the things he'd hoped she'd show him. He had worried that he was the one who's time was limited, but he never imagined this was how things would turn out. He wanted it back. The short time he had before he either completed his Focus or became a Cie'th. He had believed that it was too short a time, that even if he hadn't been made a l'Cie, that their time together would be too short.

But wanted that time back. He'd take it over no more time left at all.

Yet she was dead. She was dead and it was all gone.

He put all his anger, all his sorrow and despair, all the pain into every swing, before he finished the fal'Cie with everything he had.

He backed away as Barthandelus raised his head in pain, before it came back down, hitting the deck and then falling limp. The fal'Cie shimmered, a clear aura taking over, before he seemed to turn to glass and disappeared completely.

Sai's two blades clanged to the floor, and he slowly retrieved them. She had finished Barthandelus, at least. Perhaps she'd gotten her revenge, in a way. But that didn't bring her back.

Shu's face began to move, their muscles desperately taking control. They managed to push their arm up, moving it forward. With great effort, Shu pulled themself across the deck towards their sister. They struggled the entire way, sobbing as they blindly made their way towards the fallen figure.

They ignored Charon, and just collapsed on top of Rei, moving to put their hands at her face.

"Rei!" Shu sobbed, shaking her. "No! Don't leave me…! I don't wanna be alone, please!  _Please_ , sister! Please come back to me…! Wake up, Hotareichan, wake up…! Don't leave me alone!"

Charon couldn't breathe as he watched the scene. In an instant, he had taken everything away from Shu.

A small gasp got his attention, and he looked up to see Styx was still chained at the throne. He pulled himself to his feet and teleported over, kneeling down in front of her.

"Are you okay?"

"You…you killed her…" Styx muttered. "All because of me…"

"This isn't…"

"Yes it is. Everything that you've ever done, all just because of me."

"You'd rather I just let you  _die?_ "

She didn't answer.

Snow scoffed angrily. "A fal'Cie  _running_  the Sanctum. Doing all of  _this_."

"Then…I guess it wasn't Eden controlling things after all," Hope muttered.

"As I said."

The ship shook once more as Barthandelus reappeared in his human form with a flash. He appeared in the air, hovering down to the deck beneath him as everyone took battle stances again.

" _I_  am Lord-Sovereign."

"Guess Cocoon fal'Cie don't go down as easy as the rest of us," Sazh commented.

"But Pulse fal'Cie are free to die with one blow," Sai spat.

"Your friend was killed by the blade Zanmato, a sword that kills its target without failure," Barthandelus explained. "Mataecharonsan does an excellent job wielding it, even if it  _is_  a limited weapon. He did as he was commanded - to fight Hotareichan. Her death was not necessary, but it makes little difference. As for you, ease is not the issue you face. You have not fought to  _win_. You should know quite well already the  _sure_ way of dispatching  _our_  kind."

The others hesitated. They didn't know what he was talking about, but a way to destroy fal'Cie other than Charon's Zanmato? As he was  _working_  for Barthandelus, there was no way that they could ask for  _his_  help, and Zanmato was explained to be a risky weapon to use, not a surefire way to kill  _anything_ , even to an experienced wielder.

Barthandelus raised his staff in front of him. "Ragnarok."

A ripple of confusion swept through the l'Cie, except for Vanille, who had her hands together at her mouth in shock. Shu looked up in recognition as well, gripping their sister in their arms.

"What's Ragnarok?" Fang asked.

Her brand suddenly hissed to life with a stinging jolt, and she threw her hand over it with a shout of pain. She was instantly weakened, hissing in pain with deep breaths while Vanille took concern beside her.

"Pitiful l'Cie," Barthandelus said. "You've forgotten your Focus."

He thrust his finger forward accusingly, sweeping it across the group.

"Ragnarok is the beast one of you must become in order to lay waste to Cocoon."

Worry swept through them, and Barthandelus dropped his hand.

"You have had the dream. One among you-"

He teleported beside Fang, who had been brought to her knees from the pain of her brand, Vanille exclaiming in surprise, before he disappeared once more.

"-will become that monstrosity-"

He reappeared behind Hope at the back of the group, who turned to look at him only for him to vanish again.

"defeat Orphan-"

He appeared behind Lighting, who had turned to try and follow his movements, before disappearing to reappear back where he had been standing, walking with his back turned to the l'Cie.

"and destroy Cocoon."

"Orphan?" Lightning demanded.

Barthandelus paused in his walk and turned back to them. "The font of Eden's power. Orphan fuels Eden with strength, and Eden, in turn, sustains you and the rest of our kind. Destroy Orphan, and you'll release a force such as this world has never seen. Cocoon will be torn asunder."

Fang struggled to her feet. "So if I did that…destroyed Orphan…"

Barthandelus smiled, appearing in front of her. "Your Focus would be fulfilled."

"So what?!" Sai stepped forward and moved to strike the fal'Cie, but he disappeared before he could make contact, reappearing back where he started. "Who says it  _has_  to be?!"

Snow stepped forward, raising Serah's crystal tear. "Serah asked us to save Cocoon before she turned to crystal.  _Save_  it. And  _that's_  what we're gonna do! Serah was trying to tell us how to  _complete_  our Focus, and we have-"

He cut himself off as he heard Barthandelus's laughter. "Allow  _me_  to help you see the  _truth_  of things. The moment you arrived, your friend wept crystal tears. This was because her Focus required that you be brought together. That girl did  _nothing_  but assemble the tools for Cocoon's destruction."

Snow's eyes widened as he processed the information, staggering back in shock.

"Did it never  _occur_  to you? Or did you simply refuse to countenance the thought?"

Snow stared down at the crystal tear, as if demanding an explanation. Beside him, Lightning looked at him in pity. She'd tried to get through her point, get Snow out of his egotistical, sunshine and rainbow, la-la-land, but even she had to admit that this wasn't how she wanted to get through to him. She'd learned to find his optimism useful in keeping them going forward, but now, even he was beginning to doubt himself and his confidence was failing.

The ship suddenly jolted as an explosion ripped through one of the decks, and everyone staggered, trying to keep on their feet.

"If you will not  _face_  the truth, then face the peril of your plight," Barthandelus said, raising his staff and summoning Menrva.

The bird flew in above them, before it began to expand and transformed into an airship. Barthandelus floated up, Charon and Styx turning to orbs of light that were summoned to his staff, before he began to glow and fade away.

"Run, l'Cie! See how stark reality is!"

The airship lowered down and the ship shook again. Despite how much they disliked it, they didn't have many options.

"Come on!" Lightning shouted.

Sai sheathed his swords and ran over to Shu, grabbing Rei's swords and Shu's before pulling the fal'Cie to their feet. They refused to let go of Rei, and brought her along as they boarded the ship.

Everyone rushed to take their seats, Shu sitting in the back on the floor hugging Rei in their lap. Sazh was in the pilot's seat, and everyone else strapped in for a hasty launch.

The bird's neck and head of the  _Palamecia_  was steaming from smoke, and an explosion decapitated the bird, sending the ship up in flames. The l'Cie ship managed to escape the destruction, flying down and out of the smoke.

"This is bad!" Sazh announced, bringing Lightning and Snow to step up beside him in the pilot's seat. "The yoke's jammed!"

"What?!" Lightning snapped.

"I  _knew_  it was a trap!" Snow hissed.

"We didn't have many options!" Sai shouted.

"Something's coming!" Hope warned.

They looked out the windows to see a ship in the distance, looking like an upgraded and green version of the Ushumgal Subjugator.

"It's Rosch!" Shu shrieked from the back.

"What?! He's alive?!" Snow shouted.

"How do you know?!" Sai called.

"I can sense him!" Shu explained. "Look out!"

Rosch's machine released a wave of what looked like swords that hovered out in front of the aircraft, but they turned out to be missile launchers of some sort, charging up energy and then releasing the blasts at the l'Cie ship, trailing wakes of smoke behind them.

"Hang on!" Snow shouted.

The ship dived down, the blasts following them like homing missiles and exploding in the air, barely missing the ship and throwing them around. Shu was gripping Rei tightly in the back, as though protecting her, or looking for protection  _from_  her, wanting their sister to be there to look after them still. They managed to maneuver past the missile blasts, the ship circling behind Rosch's ship and then opening fire.

"I thought you said it was jammed!" Sai shouted.

"It's not me!" Sazh cried.

Rosch narrowly avoided the attack, flying up and out to have the l'Cie ship fly past it. He released another wave of missile blasts, and this time Sazh wasn't even aware of them before an impact jolted through the ship as every one of them exploded onto it. The ship began to plummet, burning and releasing a ton of smoke, however, the ship was still intact, flying out of the smoke and fire to reveal that it had activated a shield.

"The hell kind of ship is this?!" Sazh asked. "Fighting on its own?!"

"Let's just count our blessings!" Sai said. "For now, it wants us alive!"

The ship's shield disappeared as it began opening fire on Rosch again. It forced Rosch to retreat out of the way, allowing the ship to fly past it to escape. Rosch's aircraft surged after them in pursuit, firing bullets and missiles at them, but the ship put the shields up again and continued forward, taking the hits that occasionally knocked it off balance, but it righted itself quickly.

"Can't we do something?!" Hope cried.

"Got me!" Sazh shouted. "I give up!"

They approached what looked to be a city in the sky, and a bunch of blue holographic strips in the sky began to form a domed barrier around it, probably protecting the city from random battling ships. Then, the holographic aiming circles (well, more like crosses or stars) began to form, indication a landing or an access point of some sorts.

Surprisingly, it was the l'Cie ship that flew through them with ease, passing through the blue holographic barrier as well, while Rosch's machine was the one that crashed into the solid barrier and couldn't continue his chase. The targeting circles released them into the city, and they realized that they were no longer being pursued, the ride smoothing out.

"Where are we?" Shu asked.

"Is that Eden?" Sai realized.

They looked out the windows behind them, seeing Rosch stuck outside the barrier. Below, some people were taking notice of the random war ship in the city.

Vanille was the first to turn forward from looking back, and she gasped. "Sazh, look out!"

They all looked forward to realize that they were heading straight for a building, and it was too late to make any evasive maneuvers that would stop them from at least clipping the side of the building, and consequently, the ship too. There was a chorus of screams and shouts, before suddenly the ship jolted, and the world outside the windows seemed to pixalize.

Just before the ship crashed into the building, it disappeared in a digital flash, only a small spark left where it had been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: Fang seems to be notably absent during the airship scene. Possibly it's because the developers figured that she didn't have important lines to contribute, or, more likely, they just weren't able to keep track of all the characters in giving them lines and she was written out. I mean, I know that happens to me sometimes and I forget to mention what a certain character was doing during a fight or something, but I watched the scene a couple times on YouTube and saw that she wasn't even in the cutscenes. Like, not even a small part of her was in the frame at any moment, and I, personally, couldn't even hear her voice grunting or screaming.
> 
> So yeah, that's a minor flaw in the system, but it doesn't make me love this game any less. The Final Fantasy games IX and below have so much depth and such a long storyline, not to mention X was the first instance of voice acting in the numbered series, and you could still name the main character. I got so bored playing XIV that I couldn't tolerate it (some people hate corridor games, but the open-worlded multiplayer ones where there aren't any storylines - and if there are, they're few and far between - are just as bad), but XV shows a drastic change from XIII, as it can be easy to follow the story, but it was much shorter than I'd expected, and not a lot of depth is put into the actual game, more the optional sidegames instead.
> 
> No one go hating on FF XIII for minor nuances like Fang's absence in this scene, all right?! It's a cool fact, laugh over it, pat yourself on the back for noticing it, and move on!
> 
> Seriously!
> 
> (My friend has gotten me angry again, clearly, so sorry).


	26. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It's not fair…" He muttered.
> 
> "Life's not fair. So now that you know that, go and kick it in the face. For me, at the very least. Okay?"

When they opened their eyes, the group found the ship resting still. It had landed, and they were indoors.

They carefully made their way out of the ship to find they were in some sort of underground subway-like building. It looked old-fashioned compared to regular Cocoon structures, but there were lights on the ceiling and leading down the corridor on the path, so electricity was running through it. There were parked…er, vehicles, they guessed, and there were two tunnels going in either direction the two on one side blocked off, and the left one on the other blocked off. There was a staircase leading up, but it was blocked off with a gate as well. There seemed to be only one way to go.

Shu was carrying Rei as they left the ship, gripping her tightly in their arms as though she might disappear at any second.

"Where are we?" Lightning asked.

"Looks like a piece…of Pulse," Vanille guessed.

"Pulse?" Sazh asked. "What? You mean like…the  _Bodhum_  Vestige? Something like  _that_ …this close to Eden…"

Fang put her hands on her hips. "Yeah, well, what  _I_  don't understand is, after the Purge, and all that l'Cie paranoia…why keep a chunk of Pulse under the floorboards?"

"To have some backup threat to scare the populous with, perhaps?" Sai speculated. "The way Barthandelus talked, it seemed as though he enjoyed the fact that all the people were so afraid of anything Pulse. Fear technique of propaganda. Having a piece of Pulse close to the golden city of Eden is irony at its finest."

"Is this what the Primarch wanted us to see?" Hope wondered.

"A place for l'Cie to accept their fate," Lightning realized.

"Do you really think our Focus is what Dysley said it is?"

They looked around at each other grimly. "You mean, become Ragnarok," Vanille remembered.

"Destroy the fal'Cie Eden, and shatter Cocoon," Sazh continued. "That's what the vision's telling us, more or less." He sighed. "So, we're back to square one. Out of luck."

Vanille noticed that Snow was standing off to the side, deep in thought, and hadn't said a word the entire time. "Mr.  _Hero!_  Cocoon calling  _Snow!_ "

He didn't respond, and Vanille hopped away almost offended.

"It's almost like…Dysley  _wants_  it to come true," Hope noticed.

"Seems that way," Sazh agreed. "He sure didn't mind explaining it. 'Here's your Focus, on a silver platter.'"

"But…that doesn't make  _sense_ ," Vanille realized. "I don't get it. Why would a Cocoon fal'Cie, want to destroy  _Cocoon?_ "

"Maybe it's a fal'Cie thing," Hope guessed. "You know what I mean? Some grand design we just don't understand."

"Shu? Do you know anything?" Sai asked.

He was reluctant to bring Shu into anything, the fal'Cie just sitting against the wall holding Rei in their arms tightly.

Shu shook their head. "Barthandelus has wanted to destroy Cocoon ever since it was made, but he wanted a big amount of people to die. Back when Anima declared war on Cocoon, Barthandelus decided that the population wasn't large enough for his liking, and so he defended it. That's really all I know. Rei was the one to go to for things like that. For  _anything_ , really. She was always the one keeping track of those kinds of things, always so smart. She knew  _everything_ …"

They began crying again, burying their face into Rei's shoulder, and Sai went over to kneel down beside them, giving them a hug and trying to comfort them as best he could. But the truth was, he felt just as broken inside as Shu did. Perhaps he was just still in the denial stage of grief. Maybe she'd come back, some miracle would happen and she'd wake up healed again. It was stupid to even believe that, but he'd seen a lot of crazy things happen recently. He wouldn't be surprised if something like that happened. But he'd be relieved as hell.

Fang sighed and turned. "Hey, Snow!  _Nothing_  from you?"

He merely stared off into space, and Fang scoffed.

"So, this way?" Sazh asked, pointing to the only exit.

"We should take a break first," Hope admitted. "I think we all need it."

Though Fang seemed jumpy and ready to move, even she had to admit that a break would do everyone good. She was especially moved when she remembered that Shu was still pulling themself together after what happened. She couldn't blame them for being as upset as they were. They'd just lost their sister before their eyes, still clinging to her body as if they could somehow wake her despite Zanmato's killing capabilities.

So they split up in the room, all taking their own time to recuperate.

* * *

"You can't keep doing this to yourself, Cinthy!" Styx shouted.

"Well what do you  _want_  me to do?" Charon snapped. "Give up? You want me to just throw away  _everything_ that I've done? I won't! I won't give up on you!"

"At what cost? Look at everything you've done. You  _killed_  that girl. I only ever met her once, but I knew enough about her to know that she  _loved_  her sibling more than  _anything_ , and that Shu relied on her for  _so much_. Now that she's gone, do you know how much you've  _broken_  that fal'Cie? Shu must be completely destroyed. When they got lost and came to my riverbank because they simply couldn't  _find_  their sister, I saw how much pain that caused them, but to have her killed right in front of them?"

"I know!" Charon snapped, pounding the table between them.

"But I also saw how much you  _love_  Shu. That look in your eye? My river is dried, but I still have the power to see love through the pain that's come from what's happened. You're in love. Real, true, honest to the gods love. And the only thing standing between you and it…is me."

"Don't say that," He begged. "I just…I want see you smile, I want to see you happy. I want you to laugh and swim around in your river.  _Free_  and not…and not…"

"You need to  _wake up,_  Hyacinthaja. The past you keep looking to is gone. No matter what you do,  _nothing_ can be the way it was before-"

"It can be better than  _this!_ " He snapped. "You can hide it, but I know what they're doing to you in there. The beating, the raping, the whipping, the pure  _agony_  you're in while they suffocate your river, how much pain you feel because you're so dried out, and being stuck in your solid form for so long making you feel claustrophobic. I  _know_  you, I know  _them_ , and I know what's happening. I don't care if things can't be perfect again, but if I can just get you free of  _this_ …"

She looked down guilty. "Cinthy, it's not your-"

"Yes it  _is!_  If I had just been paying attention, he wouldn't have gotten you, and I wouldn't have been put in this position in the first place, and you…!"

"Would've been taken eventually. There was no avoiding this. The best we could do was delay it, and look at all the time that's passed before things have been set into motion. Look at all this time he could've left us alone or we could've managed to evade him and it still wouldn't have mattered."

She sighed.

"Look at me, Cinth. Look at me." She pulled his face up gently by his chin so his eyes met hers. "I know you love me. I knew that long before I was taken. But this, seeing you go so far, sacrifice so much…it hurts me, Cinthy. Remember everything that you've done. Remember all those sacrifices, all those people you've hurt, all the times you've hurt  _yourself_. Think about all of that pain, that guilt, that suffering, and then multiply it by a hundred thousand. Multiply it by the biggest number you can think of, multiply it by infinity, for the gods' sake, and you  _still_  wouldn't know what it feels like to have all that weight on  _my_  shoulders. To see all of this happening is one thing, but to be reminded  _every day_  that it's  _me_  who makes you do all of these things, that made you take that stupid oath to follow orders so that I wouldn't be harmed and would be free someday? I don't care what you think life is like in my imprisonment. That pain is  _so_  much worse."

He closed his eyes. "I want you  _safe_ , Styx," He whispered.

She sighed. "I  _know_. I understood. Back when you first made that deal, I understood why you did it. But now? After so many centuries of misery…it's not worth it anymore, Cinthy."

"But…you want me to just give up? After  _everything?_ "

She looked down in thought. "You are…gambling. You have lost so much in the process, but you have reached a point where you continue to play, giving more and more away, in the hopes that you can win it all back in the end. You have reached a point where it would hurt too much to walk away and quit, but in the end, you're really losing more if you  _continue_  to play, than if you don't. You understand?"

He scoffed. "So I lose something either way."

"You can't buy back the time you lost, you can't undo your actions. But you have a chance to start climbing out of the hole you've dug yourself into. Even if you won't be perfect on the inside, you can start recovering. Or, you will just keep digging until you've buried yourself, until you've killed yourself searching for a treasure that you know must not exist anymore."

"Even if I was going to give up, throw away everything I've done, throw away  _you_ , I can't get out of the deal, Styx. And…I don't want…to never see you again. I'm scared of that. Of letting you down, of…of being alone…"

"You left Shu alone."

He winced and dropped his head. "I know…!"

"So you go and make up for it. You both are afraid of being alone, and now that you've left that fal'Cie alone, you're…you're going to have to be there for them. You need to be happy. You need to stop deluding yourself, hurting yourself over and over because of me. You are going to love that fal'Cie with everything you have. Promise me you will choose your own path, choose your happiness for once. All my life you've looked after me. Look after yourself. Please."

"It's not fair…" He muttered.

" _Life's_  not fair. So now that you know that, go and kick it in the face. For me, at the very least. Okay?"

He didn't say anything.

The door to the cell opened and a guard walked in. "Time's up."

Charon stood and walked away.

"Hyacinthaja!" Styx shouted after him, her scolding tone making him flinch, but he kept walking out of the cell.

She was disappointed in him. She would hate him. He may never be able to look her in the eye again. But he just wanted to get her out. It wouldn't be long. He was  _so_  close. If he could just get this over with quickly, maybe he could still pick up the pieces.

But really, who was he to ask for any kind of life anymore? He'd ruined Shu's life, killed their sister, and they would never forgive him. He'd done so many horrible things over the years, and now, he couldn't even promise Styx he'd do what she wanted from him. It was over for him. But she still had a chance. However slim, Barthandelus's deal was firm. All he had to do was survive another few weeks at most, and Styx would be free. She would live.

And that's all the hope he had left to cling to.

* * *

Sazh

"Wish I could say it was  _my_  piloting skills that saved us back there, but it wasn't. Truth is, the  _ship_  handed all the flying and shooting. And I'm not talking about some jacked-up autopilot, either. Something wanted us to make it out of there, and made sure we  _did_."  
"Hey, uh…I don't know what's waiting for us out there, but…we can't sit around here worrying about it. We've got to suck it up and face reality here. Snow's falling apart, not to mention Shu, so it's up to you and me to keep things steady, Lightning."  
"Vanille told me everything. Told me who  _else_  was responsible for Euride Gorge. Ah, nevermind. Now's not the time."

Fang

"Been checking your brand? You start to stray, to take too much of a shock, your brand'll change, and it'll be 'Next stop: Cie'th Central.' Keep that in mind."  
"My brand's as  _messed up_  as the rest of me. Never changes.  _I_  might be able to get away with ignoring  _my_ Focus, but the rest of you ain't so lucky. Don't even want to  _think_  about being the only one left, herding a flock of Cie'th around."  
"Snow's taking this all pretty hard. Seeing him go from being so damn upbeat to such a mopey wreck is making  _me_  feel depressed. I'm worried about his brand."  
"Then there's Shu. I hope the poor kid recovers. I know it'll probably never be the same for them, but…well, what can I really say? I want them to get better, but I can't say that it'll be an easy road to walk. At least they don't have a brand to worry about. Otherwise, I have a feeling they'd be a Cie'th already."

Snow

"Serah…so gathering up the tools for destruction turned you to crystal, huh?"  
"You really  _were_  an enemy of Cocoon. Just like the rest of us. I had it all wrong.  _Totally_  wrong."  
"I only made it  _this_  far because I thought we were the world's last hope."  
"Now, it's  _destroy Cocoon_  or become a  _Cie'th?_  Dammit!"

Vanille

"Don't believe  _everything_  that fal'Cie says - especially one like Barthandelus. He's telling us our Focus is to destroy Cocoon, but who knows? He could be lying to trick us into helping him to do something else. We  _should_  listen to  _Serah_ , not some Cocoon fal'Cie."  
"No matter  _what_  our Focus is, we still make our  _own_  decisions. Worse comes to worst, we can always just do  _nothing_  and wait for time to run out. After all, there's no stopping our brands."  
"I got on that Purge train on my  _own_. Sanctum said we'd just be shipped out of Cocoon, and I  _believed_  it. I thought, if I went back to Gran Pulse with that fal'Cie, I might be able to escape all this. But I guess…things have a funny way of catching up with you."

Hope

"So  _Dysley_  was really the fal'Cie,  _Barthandelus_. The vision he was talking about was that crazy Ragnarok dream we all had when we were made into l'Cie. One of us is supposed to become this  _Ragnarok_  thing and destroy Eden. Except we do that by destroying this 'Orphan,' that gives Eden his power. I think I have that part straight now."  
"So Serah's  _real_  Focus was to gather a fresh batch of l'Cie candidates who could attack Cocoon. We all showed up at the Pulse fal'Cie's place, so she turned to crystal. Snow was wrong from the  _start_  then. We were never  _supposed_  to save Cocoon. It makes a lot more sense. Not that I'm happy about it."  
"Raines  _should_  be off fighting the Sanctum by now. We gotta get out of here and join up with him. But still, rushing straight into the middle of the fight's probably just what Dysley  _wants_  us to do."

Sai

"So the rukh that we saw…that was Barthandelus's?"

"Yes," Shu said. "The owl Menrva. The bird is connected to him, a part of him - like our swords."

"Can we kill the bird and cut off his power or something? I mean, it looked like he was using the bird to transform."

"The bird will be immortal so long as Barthandelus is around. Only by killing him directly can we erase him."

"You think you can help us with that?"

Shu shrugged. "I don't know. Barthandelus was, maybe still  _is_ , the king of Pulse. He's the most powerful fal'Cie we know of. I mean, I've never faced him in a fight, and I know that Rei is strong, but what you fought back there was just him holding back, playing with you. He knew that you wouldn't be able to defeat him, Rei was being held back by…a-and I wasn't in any condition to fight. He had this planned out, I'll bet. Everything. And he probably has our path planned out twenty steps ahead, too."

"So, not going to be very easy?" Sai summarized.

He sighed and sat down next to Shu, who was still holding Rei in their arms, just staring at her face.

Sai sat down beside Shu gently. "Shu…we…we have to…"

Sai was more than reluctant to say anything to Shu. He didn't want to tell Shu to let her go -  _he_  didn't want to let her go. He wondered what would've happened if he had never gotten taken by Anima, if he had never left her or let her out of his sight. He was supposed to be the one to look after her while she was on this planet. They could've been living together in Bodhum or they could've moved somewhere else. Either way, they might have had an actual life, maybe going on dates, seeing the cities, teaching her about foods, technology, experiencing all of these new things. He wanted to take her to Nautilus, he wanted to make her laugh and see her learning about even the simplest things. She might do pretty well with her job in the Guardian Corps, and they wouldn't have gotten caught in this fight to begin with.

This never would've happened. She wouldn't be dead.

And an even harder thing to comprehend was Shu. What was Sai supposed to do about them? Rei was the big sister figure of Shu, looking after them during dark times like this. Sai felt responsible for them now that she was gone, but…he didn't know what to do. He was just as scared, just as broken inside. But Shu was clearly more delicate, and Shu had lost a lot more than Sai did.

They just had everything taken from them their belief in any lasting love crushed in front of them. Charon was gone, who knew if they'd ever see him again, and if they did, he'd probably still be their enemy. The love that had made Shu so happy was gone, maybe it had never been there in the first place. They'd lost the person they thought they'd fallen in love with in a terrible way - not from an accident that took Charon's life or memories and Shu could still know Charon loved them. Shu now had to question everything that they knew about Charon and about what they had had together.

With their sister now gone, Shu had no one to lean on anymore, everything they loved was gone just like that. How was anyone supposed to just be expected to live past something like that? How was Sai supposed to help them? What were they both supposed to do now? The l'Cie problem had left them back to square one, and Sai was doomed either way, meaning Shu would eventually be left  _completely_  alone.

Shu hugged Rei tight as they sniffled and began to cry again. Then, Rei's body began to glow, small crystal fragments beginning to float up from her body as it shimmered and began to become clearer. The sparkling shards in the air began to increase in frequency as her body dissipated, and eventually Shu was left holding air, sobbing at full force again.

Then, Shu turned to Sai. "You loved her! You were supposed to protect her! You could've…you could've…Why didn't you save her…?!"

They broke down crying against Sai, wrapping them in a tight grip that wasn't violent but more out of desperation for comfort. Sai accepted the tight hug with just as much strength put into it. Sai knew that they needed to get going, find a way out of this place that Barthandelus had sent them, and kick that fal'Cie in his large mechanical face for everything that he's done. Even Charon was all his fault as well. The shock of everything that's happened was going to risk their brands, so if Sai wanted to stab that stupid Cocoon fal'Cie and get revenge, he knew he needed to act quickly.

But for now, they needed to stop. They needed to first find a way to survive this grief.


	27. The Fifth Ark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You drowned yourself for me, and I shall drown myself for you. You promised you'd be happy. Don't let me down again."

When Shu finally dragged themself to their feet and told the others that they were ready to go forward, the group was reluctant, but knew that they couldn't stay there forever.

Shu stuck close to Sai, needing to hold onto something to ground them. Sai allowed Shu to hold their arm, understanding the situation.

"So, where  _are_  we?" Sai asked.

"I want to say we're close to Eden, but it's hard to be sure," Lightning said.

"This place could be anywhere," Shu agreed. "We teleported, but I think we  _are_  close to Eden. Out of all the places for this to be."

"You know what this is?"

"I have a theory. See those cars? These tunnels are a subway system based on Pulse technology. They aren't as advanced as what you have on Cocoon, but they have their tricks. It  _does_  look old, though. These places can be like mazes depending on how big they are and our current location."

"So, the only thing we can do is pick a direction and move out, huh?" Sazh summarized. "Well, let's get going then."

* * *

"Hey, uh, I've gotta apologize," Snow said. "It looks like I was wrong."

"About Serah's Focus?" Lightning asked. "Not like you to second-guess yourself."

He rubbed the back of his head, looking to the ground. "Well, even  _heroes_  make mistakes."

Snow sat against the wall, and Lightning stood before him. She had imagined the moment that Snow was finally brought back to reality in her head a million times, and before, she'd wanted to punch him in his arrogant face for his pointless optimism. Now, Snow looked like he'd crashed from heaven to hell, all the hope in his eyes shattered. Seeing him like this, she wasn't as happy or satisfied as she might've been before.

"What about your plan to protect Cocoon?" She asked him. "Either way, your faith in Serah was strong. That strength got you this far."

Snow shook his head. "It was all  _wrong_."

"Yeah," She said bluntly. "You tried so hard to convince  _us_  that you even fooled  _yourself_. You've been a total  _idiot_. But, still…it saved me. You trusted Serah. Let that faith  _drive_  you. It even made  _me_  wanna believe."

With that, Lightning turned and walked off. Snow sighed and stood, reaching into his pocket and pulling out Serah's crystal tear. "Serah…talk to me, baby."

* * *

"This couldn't be…I mean, those were just legends, right?" Vanille muttered.

"The tunnels seem to have power, but these cars and trains are rusted beyond repair," Sai reported. "We'll have to make do with the open paths we have."

They walked up the stairs from the subway area and into a large warehouse-like room, the ceilings far above, with glowing pillars scattered about with catwalks and pipes in between.

"I can't believe we're still in Cocoon," Hope muttered.

"It's kinda creepy," Sazh agreed.

"Do you hear that humming?" Sai asked.

The floor they were standing on suddenly flashed red as a Pulse brand appeared on the floor. Everyone except Shu suddenly had their brands flare with pain, glowing with the same aura as the floor - even Fang's frozen one.

"What the-?" Sazh muttered when the brand on the floor settled down and they recovered again.

One of the large pillars that looked to have been for nothing but holding up the ceiling and pipes above suddenly hissed as doors opened, previously looking like nothing but a decorative feature. Two Pulsework Knights stomped out, and everyone quickly grabbed their weapons. It wasn't hard to assume that they worked similarly to the Pulsework soldiers, their defense high and their sweeping arm attack hard hitting.

Vanille, Hope, Sazh, and Sai went to casting spells, while Lightning, Snow, and Fang went to attacking. Shu stayed, back, and no one made any comment about it, knowing that the fal'Cie wasn't in any condition to be fighting. A little bit of staggering rendered the two Knights useless, and after that, it only took a few blows to destroy them.

"What was that?" Hope asked.

"A defense system, maybe?" Sazh guessed.

"It seemed to respond to our brands," Sai said, looking at his arm.

He still only had half a brand. He wondered if the other half would appear now that Rei was gone. An idea formed in the back of his head. Maybe, if his other half wasn't forming, he might be able to reach Rei, maybe bring her back, or maybe she wasn't even gone in the first place. Maybe fal'Cie could come back.

He knew it was far-fetched. If that logic were true, Anima probably would've come back after they'd killed  _her_  too. Though it wasn't like anyone checked, if Anima had come back, Lake Bresha might've been restored to its former lake state, and she would've wanted to get revenge on the Sanctum people that had tried to destroy her. Either way, things would've looked a lot more different.

Then again, maybe it just took time. If they ever got out of there, he'd want to keep a look out for if Anima ever came back. It wasn't a very good plan, but it was all he had at the moment. He decided not to ask Shu about it. Not only did he not want to remind Shu of Rei, but Shu probably didn't know anyway. Their sister seemed to be the thinker of the family, and even Rei didn't know everything.

They went up the stairs and got a better look at the large room they were in, the size of a large department store or mall back in one of the Cocoon cities.

"This place - it must be an Ark," Vanille realized.

"An Ark?" Lightning asked.

"That's what they called 'em," Fang agreed.

"Long ago, the fal'Cie who made their home on Gran Pulse were afraid of invasion from the outside," Vanille explained. "As part of their battle preparations, they created an army of living weapons. And they stored those weapons in Arks, and they hid the Arks all over the world."

"Everyone on Gran Pulse knew the legend," Fang agreed.

"So, this is  _basically_  a Pulse armory," Sai summarized.

"Most of us never believed in 'em. A few people tried searching, but they never found a thing. Who'd have thought to look on Cocoon?"

"The Arks were specifically designed to be hidden from humans," Shu said. "Rei…" They took a deep breath at saying her name. "-she told me she had made her own, and told me the secret of where they were hidden, that the Arks were in a place no man could find. In the sky."

"Right under our noses," Sazh realized. "That's some secret they kept. Those Sanctum guys, what are they up to?"

"The story's not done," Vanille interjected. "There's more."

"They used to say the Arks had a more  _practical_  purpose," Fang agreed.

"Huh. Really?" Lightning prodded.

Fang put her hands to her hips. "Yeah. To force l'Cie to master their shiny new powers."

Lightning scoffed. "Okay, so, I get it. Dysley's goal is to forge us into stronger weapons. Right."

"Not Cie'th," Sazh pointed out. "But monsters all the same."

"Think of it as training for the fight ahead," Hope suggested, pumping a fist.

"That's right," Vanille agreed.

The ground shook again, and everyone looked around. "Wait. What  _was_  that?" Sazh muttered.

They spotted the column that was now opening to reveal another set of Pulsework Knights.

"Aw.  _These_  guys again."

"Fun times," Sai muttered.

"Over there!" Hope shouted, pointing to the stairs leading further into the room. "We've gotta keep moving!"

Since the Knights were slow, it wasn't hard to escape and make their way down the stairs.

* * *

Charon didn't often sleep.

As a fal'Cie, he didn't need to. Of course, that wasn't to say that he was incapable. Unlike any other fal'Cie he'd ever met (besides, Shu, though he wasn't sure about Rei) he was capable of rest that resulted in dreams. It could be called sleep, or it could just be called deep meditation.

He knew that Shu slept. Shu had told him that they liked sleep, that it was relaxing and peaceful, and since humans  _needed_  sleep, they took the opportunity to take on the same cycle. Shu had often slept over at Charon's (they didn't  _do_  anything beforehand, perverts), but now that Charon was alone, he felt cold.

His nerves wouldn't settle down for a long time. He couldn't stop thinking about Shu, about feeling the sword in his hand as Rei died in front of him, about the painful knot in his gut as Styx had screamed his real name. He had let so many people down, he barely had a reason to go on.

He wasn't sure when he had fallen from his thoughts to his dreams.

_"Cinthy?"_

_Charon looked up and saw Styx, now a little girl, healthy and smiling at him. Around them were the black waters of her river, forming a dome like their own little secret room, shifting and flowing in a calming way that only she could be using to affect him._

_He gave her a weak smile. "Hey, Cali."_

_She gave a bright smile. "Hi Cinthy! Hyacinthaja, why are you sad?"_

_"Hm?"_

_"You can't keep doing this to yourself, brother. I can't keep seeing you suffer for me!"_

_Charon looked down. Below them, a field of blue flowers, ones that had always been Styx's favorite, always growing in the banks around her rivers that she had named Hyacinths after him._

_He kneeled. "But…I want to see you smile again. I want to see your river flow free and have you dancing on the water when you're happy. I want that back."_

_"But we can't ever get that back. If Barthandelus succeeds, we won't have that life. The world wouldn't be the same as it was."_

_"But we'd be together. He'll leave us when he's done. When his plans are complete, we can run. Far from this planet and the destruction that will come from its fall."_

_"Do you really believe that?"_

_"I have to."_

_"No. You can't keep deluding yourself like this."_

_"Well what do you want me to do? Give up on you? You can't ask me to do that. I won't ever do that. I just…I don't know what to do…!"_

_She looked down sadly. She walked over and sat down in the field next to him. "But I want you to be happy too. I want you to smile, and love, and I don't want you to always sacrifice everything you have just for me. All our lives, all you've ever done is protect me. And I love you for that, I really do."_

_She put her hand gently to his face, forcing him to look at her._

_"But for once in your life, Hyacinth, please, just tell me what you want."_

_He hesitated as he thought. "I want…to live with you and…and Shu. And Rei, even Sai. I want them to be a part of our family. I want to be a part of theirs. I want…I want Shu to not hate me. I want you to be okay. I want it all, Cali. I want too much to be happy."_

_He began to cry, and his little sister hugged him. "You need to work for it, Charon. You can't just give up and let fate do as it wishes to you. You have to fight for what you want."_

_"I'm trying…" He choked out. "I'm trying so hard, and all I do is mess up. If I had just protected you that day, none of this…none of this would've happened!"_

_"You found someone you love, Cinthy."_

_"But you…"_

_"Don't tell me I'm worth more than Shu. Don't you dare. I have enough guilt already because of you. I saw the way you looked at them. You're in love. You are so deep in love that you're drowning, and believe me, I know a thing or two about drowning."_

_"You can't drown."_

_"You drowned yourself for me, and I shall drown myself for you. You promised you'd be happy. Don't let me down again."_

_He pulled back from their hug. "What are you sa-?"_

_She was covered in blood. Her eyes stared back at him, blank. The life in her eyes was gone. The river turned black, the Hyacinthus died. His whole world fell apart, and in an instant, it was gone._

Charon woke up, adrenaline pumping through him. He didn't often sleep, there was no need for him to. But when he did, it was usually his sister playing back on Pulse in the early days. Never had she been dead.

He jumped off his bed and teleported to the prison where he knew she was being kept. Barthandelus warded the place against fal'Cie teleporting, but he could use his daily visit at any time, including at night. He just  _had_  to make sure.

But this time, there seemed to be a crowd. Something had happened.

"What's going on?" He asked a woman standing outside.

"A suicide in the prison block," She said. "Must've been a drug or something. No weapon. She just dropped dead. Looked like a corpse already, though. Poison perhaps."

Charon got a feeling of dread in his stomach and pushed through the crowd. His strength made the task easy, even as people and soldiers were demanding that he stop.

When he reached the crime scene, he froze. It was her. She was dead. He kneeled down to her, gently putting his hand to her face. There was a sense of peace, as though she'd known this was going to happen and accepted it. How could she just accept it?

He knew. He knew from the moment he'd seen her dead. She'd done this to herself. She killed herself so that Charon would be free of his contract.

When the men dragged him away, he no longer has the strength to resist. He couldn't draw his eyes away from his dead sister's face. She was gone. Hundred of years of hope that she could one day go home, smile and laugh while playing on the water, running free on the plains of Gran Pulse. All shattered, right then and there.

A man was asking him questions, but he didn't listen, let alone want to answer. He might have given the answer that he was her brother, he might've heard some apologies and felt a blanket dropped over his shoulders, but he was too shocked to be aware of anything but the realization that she was gone.

And when he went home to his room, he realized what her words had meant. He had given up everything, his freedom, his  _life_  for her sake, and now she had killed herself for his. He gave himself up for her freedom, she gave herself up for his.

' _You drowned yourself for me, and I shall drown myself for you. You promised you'd be happy. Don't let me down again._ '

How could he possibly be  _happy?_  Everything was gone. Shu, Styx, his future. What did he want to do now? He just wanted to go home, live with his family in peace, get away from all this.

But killing Barthandelus would be quick. He wanted to have all of Barthandelus's carefully laid plans that he's been working on for all these centuries to fall apart in front of him. He wanted the fal'Cie to know  _exactly_  what he had felt the moment he saw his sister dead in her cell.

When he visited the Lindblum the next morning, Cid was leaving.

"You're going to stop Barthandelus, huh?" Charon guessed.

"In a way," Cid said. "I cannot kill him, but I can still stop him and his plans. I will be a puppet no more. And you? Will you stop me? Will you continue to let him pull your strings until you break?"

Charon shook his head. "I'll help you go unnoticed. Today we ruin everything he has worked so hard for. We will shatter everything before his eyes."

* * *

"Run for your life!" Vanille shouted, if a bit playfully.

They made their way through the large warehouse area, facing a few Pulsework Knights and some bomb-like Circuitrons. The mechanical monsters were tough, but they had a large group. Sai found himself being protective of Shu, maybe because he wouldn't forgive himself if he let Rei's sibling come to harm while they were in this state. He knew that she'd protect them at all costs, and so that's what he planned to do for her.

"So…we really  _are_  being trained to attack Cocoon," Snow murmured.

"Do we have a plan?" Sai asked.

"First, we need to find a way out of here," Lightning pressed, though she didn't seem too sure. "After that…we can decide when we do."

They headed down the stairs and into another subway section. They were met with some new types of slugs, Noctilucales (or would the plural just be Noctilucale like the plural of fish is just fish? English is hard. I'ma go with the plural to be Noctilucale from now on). When they came in great numbers, the damage of their ability to drain health using Nutrient Absorption could add up, and they were also met with Phosphoric Ooze, glowing green flan that had the ability to Merge into Alchemic Ooze, which was significantly stronger and it seemed to restore them - it - to full power so they had to start all over.

Yet the large numbers of the enemies proved to allow the group to adjust and defeat them faster as they pressed onward. The tunnel opened up into what appeared to be a large open sewer system of some kind. Water was flowing from beneath one of the platforms, and the bottom couldn't be seen through the fog and mist created from the falls. They made their way over to another tunnel and headed down into the corridors.

"How long does this place go on?" Hope asked.

"Who knows?" Sai muttered.

"Arks are big by human standards," Shu said, the fal'Cie quite as though speaking would bring the world down. "Rei…" They paused again at her name, but their hesitation was a lot shorter than before, the effort to power through the syllable evident. "She'd been working on her Ark for a long time, though I couldn't give you an exact number. These places can be the size of entire cities, and that's by fal'Cie standards when we're in our true forms - so basically at least five times as big."

Sazh sighed with a dramatic groan. "This is gonna be a long trip then."

"Might as well get moving then," Fang said.

"Who knows where we landed relative to the exit," Lightning said.

Was it sad that the one who never smiled had to be the optimist here?

"Yeah, let's go!" Vanille cheered and skipped ahead.

The Ark seemed to have power, and the mechanical doors weren't rusted shut, so they snapped open, the doors falling down into the floor from pistons on the sides, as they approached. It didn't seem possible for living creatures to have survived in the Ark, as the first part had only contained monsters, but the flan and the slugs came in droves, and as they entered the next large room, they encountered a Skata'ne and a Stikini, who did a Forbidden Dance, swinging its arms and jumping around as its body glowed purple before it threw out its wings and released the purple energy gathered into a big wave.

Snow and Vanille suddenly stopped in their attacks, inflicted with Daze as well as Deprotect. Hope quickly went to work with Esuna, first getting Vanille back in action to help with the healing, as the Skata'ne was hitting quickly and hard on top of the Stikini and it's debilitating. The others finished off the Skata'ne and turned to the Stikini, who was now glowing golden-yellow as it did a Delirious Dance - this one bestowing itself with Bravery and Haste instead of debuffing the l'Cie.

Sazh was already at work giving the crew Haste and Hope and Vanille were efficient in fixing the status ailments and healing up the damage. Fang was tossing Dispel to get rid of the positive buffs on the monster, and Lightning, Snow, and Sai were on the offensive and attacking. It was hardly coordinated, even if they worked well with one another. It simply happened, each person reacting to the situation without even needed to communicate.

The large group and diverse abilities, at least two people adept at each skill, five at the maximum, they were an effective team. They made their way down to the next open door, some of the doors either locked or just jammed from years of disuse. At the very least, they never came across a situation where there was no way out of the room.

After walking down another hallway, they came across a room that resembled more of a museum, with large machines on display, seemingly inactive. The entire room glowed with a red aura, the green lights that had been all across the Ark contrasting them like the mood lighting for a Christmas party.

"Berserkers," Shu muttered.

"These machines?" Sai asked.

Shu nodded. "They're made to be one of the strongest weapons of war. Built with sentience to react to situations in a battle, and built with strong offensive and defensive capabilities. These look old, but not all of them are deactivated."

"You mean these things…are alive?" Sazh asked.

"What's the Sanctum up to?" Lightning wondered. "Are they planning to start a  _war?_ "

"It's possible," Sai admitted. "The chaos of the Purge kept the populace under their thumb in fear. If a war just happened to start, the people would flock to the government for protection and the Sanctum's power would be undisputed."

They attempted to make their way through the room, but one of the Berserkers jumped off its pedestal and turned to face them. It held up its shield of metal, four hovering J-shaped shields that fanned out to created a protective barrier that prevented offensive attacking while it used Forge Blade. Sazh and Hope quickly went to throwing all the buffs they could in preparation for the impending assault.

When the Berserker sheathed its shield, a large blade had appeared, hovering in the air of its own volition and matching the color pattern of the main monster. The Centurion Blade swung freely, not controlled/limited by its creator, and the Berserker itself charged forward of its four metal legs, shaking the ground, before raising its front legs to come down on Snow, who guarded with an Entrench before retaliating with a strike.

Snow and Fang took defensive Sentinel roles to take the attacks, while everyone was buffed up by Hope and Sazh and got to work. Half the group went for the blade and half for the Berserker itself, each of the enemies going for one of the Sentinels and leaving them open to attack. They went through the regular routine of try and stagger the enemy before unleashing hell, the Berserker focused on Fang, but doing wide-damaging attacks and occasionally hitting the others. It swung its four J-shaped shields so that the straight end was pointing towards Fang, incidentally swinging it at Hope and Sazh as it just got it into position, before unleashing Pulsefire from the end, a wave of heat and smoke shooting out.

The Centurion Blade swung in a frenzy like it had a blind wielder lashing out frantically. The blade was much quick to stagger and far weaker than expected. Though it was strong, it wasn't defensive nor was it very resilient. The others quickly went to staggering the Berserker, as it could remake another Centurion Blade at any moment. Luckily, the other group was already on the case, and Snow did the honors of launching the large machine up into the air.

They expected it to take a second stagger, but in the end, all of them attacking along with a couple of Smite's to kill it.

"They're probably not at full power," Shu said. "And you outnumber it by a lot, in numbers, abilities, skills, and smarts."

Luckily, only two of the four Berserkers on display in the room activated and attempted to attack. On the second round, they stopped playing so defensive and staggered the Berserker before it could summon its Centurion Blade at all.

They made their way into an elevator, a large platform with no closed off walls so they could see the metal of the elevator shaft passing around them.

"What's this Dysley - or, uh, Bart-an-dealio character trying to do, anyway?" Sazh asked as they descended. "I get he wants us to destroy Cocoon, or at least pose a threat to it maybe, but why? I mean, what does he gain?"

"More fear propaganda?" Lightning suggested doubtfully. "Or maybe he's just gotten bored of taking care of all of us  _foolish_  humans."

"It seemed like more than that," Sai said. "He seemed to have this mapped out to the tiniest detail, like he knew exactly what we plan to do. Like…he's been planning this for a lot longer than any of us have realized. He could've known everything that happened ages before any of us were even born."

"Barthandelus was once the king of Pulse before he built and migrated to Cocoon," Shu informed them. "Most fal'Cie don't have sentimental attachments. He couldn't care less what happens to this floating world."

"Then why build it in the first place? Why go to the trouble of making war with Anima over it?"

Shu shrugged. "He made it for a reason, and now we know that reason was to bring it down. We lived away from the other fal'Cie, rarely ever fit in with the social group, and we didn't really want to go near the king. Best to stay out of his way, Rei said. I couldn't tell you what the other fal'Cie did during their free time, I just knew that I sometimes saw them and hung out, but they didn't really acknowledge us much."

"Do you suppose Orphan and Eden are waiting in here?" Hope speculated.

"Who knows?" Lightning muttered. "Since none of us have ever even heard of Orphan, it's possible that he's been hidden in a place like this. Eden's location has been obviously pinpointed to Eden, but if this place is under or close to Eden, the supposed location could just be a hoax and the real fal'Cie is down here. At this point, I wouldn't have trouble believing it."

"I don't sense any fal'Cie," Shu said. "Then again, it's hard to tell most of the time, especially with Cocoon fal'Cie. It's entirely possible that they can cloak themselves from detection."

The elevator reached the end of its journey and the doors opened into another subway area. Inside, they found some Imp creatures, doing their spell-casting thing, and plenty more Phosphoric Ooze to go around. They would've made nice additions to parties, if they weren't attempting to kill anything that wasn't also a monster. They came in a large group and managed to Merge again to Alchemic Ooze again, but at least they were able to handle the situation, even if it  _could_  become time-consuming.

They made their way down the tunnels once more, unsure of how long they'd be continuing this pattern.

* * *

"Sai, are you good with emotions?" Shu asked as the two of them walked a little behind the group.

"I'd think so, though I can't promise anything. Why?"

Shu looked down at the glowing floor as they walked, seemingly deflating like a water-balloon with a hole, slowly shrinking up and losing their energy.

"Does it ever get better?" They whispered, their eyes full of more unshed tears.

Sai's chest clenched. What was he supposed to say? Loss was always a hard thing; he'd been the one burdened with informing relatives of someone's death before while he was in the Guardian Corps. Each time, it never got easier. Did he want to lie and say that it would get better, while also subtly implying that the feelings for the loved one didn't matter enough to make an impact, or did he want to be blunt and say that no, it wouldn't ever get better, but subtly imply that it was because the love was too strong to ever be brushed aside?

"That depends…" He began, trying to put strong together his words. "…on you. Time can do many things, but that depends on what path you choose to walk. Do you want to brood on the absence of your happiness? Do you want to remember the time when you had it? Or do you want to try and find more in the future? All have their advantages and drawbacks, but you don't have to choose only one. Make a combination, try and do all of them. But it's all up to you."

"How do I do it? H-How do I…choose a path? How to do I make one?"

He shrugged lightly. "I can't tell you. To be honest, I don't know what I'm going to do myself."

"You're…" They sniffled. "Your path is in front of you whether you like it or not."

They motioned to the half of a brand on Sai's forearm - which had advanced significantly since they'd entered the Ark. The eye was now very clear, and though only half of the brand could be seen, it was clear that Sai had lost a lot of valuable time because of his unstable emotional state. He tried to hold it together on the outside, but his brand gave away just how twisted up he was inside.

"Me?" Shu continued, beginning to sob. "I don't know  _anything_ …I can't make it on my own…!"

Shu fell against Sai as they gripped him tightly and cried into his shoulder. He was taller than Shu by a little, but not as tall as Charon, and Shu only sobbed harder at the realization that they were making the comparison - that despite everything, they still wished that Sai was Charon instead.

Sai gripped Shu in a tight hug and let them cry, but he knew that they were right. Shu would be alone, and soon. What could Sai possibly do in the time that they had to reassure Shu, to help them get back on their feet and survive the loss and betrayal that had just recently happened?

Nothing. And Sai knew it.

And Shu knew it.

And they sobbed harder.


	28. The Fal'Cie Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I've lost my name, my family, my home, my life, everything I love! And what makes you think I should help you?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, it really would be awesome if we could just use all six of the characters in battle at once. It'd be a little over-powered for regular encounters, but during a boss fight, we need all the help we can get.
> 
> So yeah, fair warning, we get to the boss in this chapter, dun, dun, dun! On the bright side, the fight was relatively quick compared to others and especially Barthandelus. A lot of it is actual story, so it's really the regular warning for this being a very long chapter.

Hope quickly healed Sai as he was tossed in the air from a Greater Behemoth Heave attack. Sazh turned his pistols into a rifle and shot the monster before it started glowing with an electric aura. Its muscles bulged, it growled and rose to its hind legs, and reached up to grab the sword from its head with a powerful roar as the aura exploded. The Behemoth was returned to full health again, and they started from scratch.

"Sai!"

Shu pulled Sai out of the way as he was shaking off the hit. Shu had been staying a distance away from the fight, but quickly jumped in when Sai had been attacked with Heave. Shu was far stronger than they looked, but they still had to drag Sai rather than pick him up completely because he was taller and Shu just couldn't seem to summon their full strength.

"I'm fine, Shu," Sai assured them.

"O-Okay…"

Shu looked ashamed for intervening.

"But thank you," Sai said quickly, resting his hand on their shoulder reassuringly. "I appreciate your help. You did well, Shu."

They looked up at Sai doubtfully, but couldn't look at Sai's comforting smile without feeling guilty. Now even Sai had to look after them. He should've been doing his own grieving for Rei, he shouldn't have to babysit Shu and have that take all of his attention. Shu was such a burden to everyone around them. They wondered if Rei ever thought they got tiring at some point. The thought disheartened the fal'Cie further.

"We'll be done in a moment," Sai assured them.

Shu nodded slowly. Sai ruffled Shu's hair lightly, and they instinctively moved to fix it. They patted it into place, but clearly lost their energy. Sai frowned, but moved to join the others in fighting the Greater Behemoth.

The monster swung its large sword, which was basically a giant circular saw with a handle, and Fang held her ground as it clashed with her lance in her defensive Sentinel Steelguard. Snow moved in from the side to hit it with an Aquastrike that knocked the towering creature off balance as it was staggered and glowed gold. Hope and Vanille continued to build the chain gauge for ever more damage while the others all went offensive to attacking, having been protected and healed earlier.

Lightning slashed at the Behemoth's left side, causing it to stagger right into where Fang struck its other side with her lance. Sazh shot it in the face and diverted its attention just before Snow hit it right between the shoulder blades to send it falling forward into Sai's swinging swords. He slashed at it with enough force to change its momentum to falling backwards again, before Lightning stabbed her sword at the base of its spine and it went limp, fading to a black silhouette before that dissipated into the air.

"Like a well-oiled machine," Sazh commented, slipping his pistols into their holsters.

Sai went over and offered a hand to Shu, who was sitting at the corner of the subway area silently, seemingly unaware of the monster they had been fighting. Shu looked up, as though surprised that the fight was already over, and allowed Sai to take their hand and pull them to their feet. As they continued down the tunnel, Sai didn't protest when Shu kept hold of his hand.

They came out into another of the large sewer-like areas, water streaming out from under the subway tunnel entries and down into the abyss below. They made their way along the metal structures lining the smooth walls, hoping that they were still structurally sound. There would be nothing for them to get a grip on if they fell, after all. The staircases also jutted out from the walls as well, leaving them walking across a narrow metal pathway with nothing supporting it from below, only each end being held.

They made it safely across, going down yet another tunnel. When they reached the next station, every other exit was closed off, forcing them to turn down a tunnel with a different aesthetic than the rest of the subway they'd been going through.

"Is it just me, or does this seem like an exit?" Sai suggested.

"Could be," Lightning agreed. "At the very least, it seems to be leading us out of the subway tunnels."

Sure enough, the tunnel opened up into a larger area, resembling some kind of helicopter landing pad or something, with an open area and what looked to have been a city of buildings behind it. The buildings were all tilted, having fallen long ago, but just based on the rectangles that had been windows, they had been many stories high. The large area wasn't completely open, a wall and dome surrounding the edges of the space like in Attack on Titan but with metal walls and a roof, yet it was certainly bigger and closer to freedom than the place had been before.

There wasn't much time to take in the scenery, however, as their attention was drawn to the man walking up to them from the middle of the area leading up to the tunnel they were exiting.

"Raines?" Snow asked.

" _What?_ " Fang hissed.

Snow turned and saw Sazh, Vanille, and Sai's worried looks. "Whoa, easy, guys, it's all right." He jabbed a thumb behind him before turning. "Raines is a Sanctum officer. He's been helping us out-"

"Ah!" Fang's arm shot up and prevented Snow from moving forward. "Why are you here?"

Cid was silent, but then Charon walked out reluctantly from behind him. "Why else, Fang, but to stop you?"

"Raines!" Lightning snapped, drawing her gunblade and charging forward. "You traitor!"

She swung, but Cid sidestepped her swing easily, his cape acting similar to a flag in bull-fighting. Lightning turned in surprise, but quickly moved to strike once more, each of her swings blocked by Cid's one gloved hand as sparks flew. On her third swing, he caught her wrist and flipped her single-handedly, her gunblade flying up out of her hands as she slammed against the ground with a shout of anger and surprise. Cid had barely grunted in the effort to take her down, the other's all backing up in shock as Lightning rolled to a kneeling position quickly.

Admittedly, Lightning's rage had been impairing her judgment and skill, but the shock still rippled through the others as she was defeated so easily. Shu was probably the most taken, pulling close to Sai with a small shriek. Sai kept them behind him protectively, and Charon felt a surge of jealousy at the scene. Charon should've been the one to protect them, not the one they needed to be protected from.

Cid caught Lightning's weapon as it came back down, a small brand of Lindzei glowing on the back of his hand. "I put you on the path. That was my Focus."

Vanille, Hope, and Snow were taken back, and Fang responded with anger. "You're a l'Cie?" She demanded.

"Since  _long_  before we met," He confirmed, holding Lightning's gunblade out, though having no intention of using it. "I did my best to assist you, as bid by the Sanctum fal'Cie. Now do you understand? The fal'Cie have watched over you, guiding your every step. The 'luck' that saved you time and again was a  _deliberate machination_. Why, you may ask? The Primarch - or should I say,  _Barthandelus_  - is crafting you into the instruments of Cocoon's demise."

Fang scoffed. "We've been played for fools."

"So all those meetings with Cid, why you came to the Lindblum in the first place…" Shu muttered.

"Reporting Cid's orders, keeping an eye on the Lindblum," Charon finished. "Making sure they didn't step outside of the Primarch's plan for them. Making sure  _Cid_  didn't step out of line. Being l'Cie still means you have a choice, but Barthandelus wanted me to make sure that Cid had none."

"So you weren't spying on the Sanctum, you were spying on the Lindblum. What are you, a  _triple_  agent?" Sai asked.

Charon shrugged. "I don't know what I am anymore. Barthandelus gave me orders, I followed them, simple as that. I didn't pay much attention to everything after a while."

"A Cocoon fal'Cie?" Sazh realized. "Why? Why would  _he_  want do this?"

"To restore the Maker."

"The Maker?" Hope asked.

"The entity responsible for creating both humans  _and_  fal'Cie."

"'Long ago, the Maker departed this world, leaving the two races behind,'" Shu recited. "'In a sense, human and fal'Cie are brothers - orphaned by the same parent. As for the humans, they forgot the order imposed by the Maker. They began to war amongst themselves for the first time in history. The fal'Cie focused on recalling their lost deity, and returning the world to its former glory. This purpose lies at the heart of all their actions.' Rei told me the story when I was little. I never understood what it meant. She would just smile when I asked and said that I shouldn't be concerned about it - that the other fal'Cie would handle things and we were to just stay out of their way. The other fal'Cie…all of them seemed to have a goal, a Focus of their own. I wondered why they never relaxed, never just played, never stopped their endless working, doing things I didn't understand. They were searching for a way to bring this 'Maker' back, and Barthandelus went about it by creating Cocoon…starting that war with Anima, staring  _all_  of this."

Cid nodded. "Calling back the Maker requires a fitting sacrifice."

Lightning stood, venom in her voice. "Yeah, we've heard. The destruction of Cocoon."

"The lives of this world's entire populace, in bloody tribute!"

Cid tossed her sword back to her, and she caught it gracefully. Cid's tone suggested that he thought the idea was just as repulsive as she did.

"No…that's crazy talk," Sazh muttered.

"I don't get it," Hope said. "Why do they need us? Couldn't the fal'Cie end Cocoon with just a thought?"

"Their existence is bound to the creation and maintenance of this floating shell," Cid explained. "It is their very nature that holds them in check."

"You mean…" Hope summarized. "Cocoon fal'Cie can't destroy Cocoon? They needed tools…"

Vanille stepped forward, her hand at her chest resolutely. "If we can stop this by doing nothing…" She shook her head. "We'll do nothing!"

"Noble," Cid admitted. "I expected as much."

"You  _lied_  to us," Snow spat. "What happened to your dream of rebuilding Cocoon for the  _people_ _?_  Was it  _all_  a lie?!"

"A shadow of a dream, from when I was human. It was change I craved, and once I'd built the influence to make things happen, there  _was_  change. I gained  _all_  the power I could hope for, but was a  _puppet_  with no will to wield it. It wasn't the fal'Cie who changed. It was  _me_."

He held up his hand, his brand flaring with power and glowing with a bright green light.

"You…you were made a l'Cie?" Vanille asked weakly.

"A l'Cie," He agreed. "Tied to an inescapable Focus - a slave of destiny. I'd lost hope. I saw that even another fal'Cie couldn't escape the ties binding him to Barthandelus. I'd all but given up on dreams of freedom."

"What are you saying?" Sai demanded.

"We are here of our own accord, not by fal'Cie order," Charon declared.

"Seeing you fight brought it all back," Cid admitted. "Brought back that future I once strove for. I, too, will challenge my fate."

Cid made a fist in front of him, his l'Cie brand charging energy before the symbol of Lindzei flashed to full power above the back of his hand. His hand shot up, his entire body engulfed in an aura of power, releasing a shockwave of energy that caused the group to stumble back.

Charon held his hand out, energy building up before he sent a blast towards Shu. Sai got in the way instantly, holding out his two swords in defense, but the force sent him flying the two blades spiraling through the air in either direction as both Sai and Shu behind him were thrown back from the rest of the group.

Cid snapped, energy pulsating through the air as a large brand of Lindzei image appeared behind the l'Cie. With an electric zap, rows of the brands expanded to each side, circling the group and caging them in with Cid until the end ones locked together. All of them looked around at the closing circle as it formed in alarm, but it was too late to do anything by the time they realized what was happening. They were trapped, a solid aura connecting the brands like a fence, so even if they thought they could just slip past the admittedly wide spaces between the brands, it was foolproof - no going under, too high to jump over.

"Easy, guys," Lighting warned.

Cid lowered his hand slowly, in a defensive position as the energy he was releasing only grew. "If I can defeat you here, the fal'Cie plan will fail."

"Raines!" Fang shouted.

"I will use all my remaining power!" He declared, pulling his arms together as Charon put his hand on Cid's back.

Cid threw his arms and head out and back, a flash transforming the upper half of his body into a half-crystalline-Cie'th, pushing himself to his limits without fully losing his mind courtesy of Charon's fal'Cie help. His upper half was now bare of clothing, revealing white crystal skin taking up almost all of his torso. His right arm was completely encompassed, his hand and arm much bigger than normal thanks to the crystal and it was the part of him that was most Cie'th. His left arm remained normal and human, but the crystal had spread down his upper arm about halfway. His hair had been thrown up and crystalized like some kind of Onion Knight's helm, with black tips remaining from his actual hair color. His face and neck were still skin in the front, but the crystal cupped his head and reached out to his eyes, which were now glossed over as crystal orbs themselves.

"I will set you free!" Cid declared.

Charon disappeared in a flash, leaving the l'Cie to fight Raines. He reappeared in front of Shu, who was cradling the unconscious Sai in their arms.

"Sai! Sai, wake up!"

Charon drew his Wakizashi. "Two of them are dead!"

He slowly began to advance on Shu, who stumbled back with a shriek, slipping out from under Sai and struggling to get to their feet while trying to back up.

"You and I are the last ones! When we're gone, there'll be  _nothing_  left!"

He swung his sword and Shu frantically rolled out of the way of his swing, barely dodging his sword that cut deep into the ground and released a wave of energy that cut right through where Shu had been - instead tearing through the metal floor. He was aiming to kill.

"Charon! Charon, stop!"

"You want me to stop? You'll have to kill me!"

He swung again, releasing a wave of energy that cut Shu in the arm as they tried to dive out of the way. They screamed and held their shoulder, trying to pull themself forward on the ground with their other.

They began to sob. "Rei…Rei, help me!"

Charon grabbed Shu and slammed them up against the wall as they screamed. "You're sister isn't here anymore! Our sisters are gone, and there's nothing we can do about it! So you either suck it up and deal with it, or you die!"

Charon turned and tossed Shu through the air, sending them high over the battle with Cid and the l'Cie and over the edge of the railing, down into the destroyed city below. He teleported to where Shu was in the air and swung his sword repeatedly, though his weapon didn't release energy waves. He kicked and slashed at Shu multiple times, but it was so fast that Shu was sent flying with practically all the force applied to them at once.

Despite being a weak fal'Cie and not in good condition, Shu still had the resilience of any other fal'Cie, whether they liked it or not. They hit the ground hard from the force and were beaten up badly, but they were still alive and conscious. They struggled to sit up, having been thrown into one of the buildings. Charon appeared, looming above them, his sword drawn.

Shu saw an anger in his eyes they'd never seen before, and one that terrified them more than anything.

* * *

Raines was fast and hit hard. Snow was the first to Provoke him and barely managed to get in an Entrench before Cid was suddenly upon him, shooting across the ground for a spin-kick. He struck Snow multiple times, even knocking him back though he kept his defensive stance, and Raines kicked upwards in a flip that might've sent Snow skyward had he not been guarding.

Hope threw on a Protect to help Snow, and as Raines finished his assault, he backed up to reveal he was hovering just above the ground, light as air and explaining his impeccable speed as he glided across the floor. Sazh and Hope were moving quickly to get their buffs on everyone, while Lightning was switching between attacking and throwing spells to build a chain gauge and Fang and Vanille were trying every debuff they knew.

Raines, enduring Lightning's hits like she didn't even exist, threw a volley of Ruins at Snow. He paused for a long moment, waiting for just the right time to fly in for another combo, this time having every hit blocked except his last one, where Snow's Entrench wore off and he was forced to strike with his built up energy. Right after the hit that Cid didn't react to, Snow was kicked up into the air from Cid's upwards kick.

"The fal'Cie have no hold over me!"

Snow came plummeting down to the ground before Raines tossed a Ruinga and slammed him back down just as he was trying to get up. Snow managed to stand, just as Raines shifted to Defensive, taking on a Guard stance and effectively leaving both him and Snow guarding. Snow saw this and changed to offensively casting spells to help Lightning with the chain, just as Sazh and Hope decided they'd gotten all the buffs everyone needed and assisted as well.

"No more words!"

He switched back to Offensive before unleashing his combo this time on Fang. Hope was quick to heal everyone up, but Raines shifted to a Recovery Shift and started casting very quick Cure spells. They continued their assault to out-damage his healing, keeping up their own health while doing all the damage to Raines that they could. They were making good progress, even before they'd fully powered up a stagger, but then Raines slumped forward, his crystal body glowing as four sets of crystal wings sprung from his back in a Metamorphose.

"My will is my own! My will is my strength!"

He suddenly shot high up into the air, throwing his wings and head back. A Seraphic Ray caused the entire area to flash white knocking all those who weren't prepared back with powerful blast and dispelling every one of the positive buffs that had been cast on the l'Cie. Then, as they were switching to a defensive mode with Medics, Sentinels, and Synergists, Raines cast Protect, Shell, Vigilance, and Haste. Raines went on a Guard, and so Vanille focused her efforts on healing while Fang went in to try and Dispel, the effect lowered because of Raines' defensive move. Hope was torn between healing and putting up Protect and Shell again at the very least for Raines' next assault, while Sazh was hurrying to put up Haste on everyone to speed up the recovery, Vigilance to help keep them from flinching, and Faith on the healers to speed up the healing process. Snow was in Mediguard and Lightning was helping out with the healing as well.

As luck would have it, it was Hope who ended up taking the next assault, who had been more focused on helping the others than helping himself. Even though he was at medium health with Protect, the Ruin attacks knocked him out. Lightning was the first to use Raise and heal him up, but Raines cast Poisonga, Deprotega, Deshellga, and Dazega, hitting all of them with varying degrees of success. Hope had gotten Daze, Deshell, and Deprotect, Vanille had gotten Poison and Deshell, Sazh had gotten Deprotect, Lightning had gotten Dazed and Poisoned, Snow had only Deshell, and Fang had gotten only Poison.

Vanille went to using Esuna on Lighting and Hope first so that they could help in the efforts to heal, but Raines cast a Ruinga to Snow who was defending and the blast hit Hope and knocked him out again. This time, Sazh revived him with a Phoenix Down, but meanwhile Cid started using Curasa and then went in for his physical combo with Snow in Mediguard. Fang went in for attacks to help keep the stagger chain they'd built alive, with Sazh trying to help by casting spells as the others worked frantically to heal the statuses and the damage done.

Then, Raines busted out another Seraphic Ray, getting rid of all the debuffs still in place and getting rid of all the positive buffs as well - including the ones left on Raines himself. Raines was quick to replace his own, however, while the others were struggling to recover again.

* * *

"Charon, if you and Cid are…defying Barthandelus, why are you…?"

"I'm stopping his plans. I'm going to make sure that everything falls apart in front of him, just like it did for me!"

"Why does that mean killing us?! Why can't you help us?!"

"Why do you think I'm able to defy him at all?! She is  _dead!_  Styx is dead! After all these years, I've hoped, and worked, and  _never_  stepped out of line, and now she's dead!"

"She's…but if she was all the leverage Barthandelus had over you then why would he-?"

"She killed herself for  _me!_  She thought that she was…holding me back, that she would be better off…! I've lost my name, my family, my home, my life, everything I love! And what makes you think I should help  _you?!_ "

He swung his sword and Shu reached for their own on their back, drawing it and blocking Charon's at an angle with their good arm.

"This  _all_  started because of you!" He pushed against Shu's sword and Shu was forced back. "If I had never seen you, if I had never met you, if I had never talked to you, if I had never kissed you, if I had never  _loved_ you, none of this ever would've happened!"

Charon forced Shu's sword upwards, sending them stumbling back and falling to the ground.

"She would still be alive!"

Charon's sword came down and Shu held their hand up to catch it, the blade cutting deep into their hand, releasing a stream of moss-green blood. It was a miracle that the blade hadn't simply cut straight through their hand and arm, but Shu's hand was shaking and they could feel the blade sinking deeper with each second.

"Mataecharonsan, STOP!"

It was a desperate and futile final plea, but to both of their surprise, Charon stopped putting pressure on his weapon. Both held still for a moment, before Shu carefully pulled their hand away, Charon not moving from his position. His face expressed both anger and confusion, but he wasn't able to move or say anything.

Shu placed their injured hand within their other, holding it tightly to stop the bleeding. "C-Charon?"

Charon looked like he was straining to speak, but he couldn't. Shu remembered that Barthandelus had spoken Charon's full name every time he gave a command, and this time, Charon only stopped when Shu used his full name to order him to literally stop.

"M-Mataecharonsan, y-you won't hurt me or the l'Cie!"

Charon still didn't move. Shu felt out of place ordering him around, but it was worth the try. If they could stop Charon from hurting all of them, then they could stop this fight peacefully.

"Um…you can move now."

Charon seemed to be giving them a ticked off face, as though prodding for them to continue.

"Oh.  _Mataecharonsan_ , you can move now. Man, your name can be a mouthful."

He suddenly sprang to life, finishing the arc of his swing and sending out a wave of energy. Shu shrieked and covered their face as they shrank up in defense. They felt their hair blow and the pressure as the attack sliced through the air beside them, but as they heard an explosion from behind them, they realized that he had missed.

They slowly opened their eyes and came out of their tight, balled up position, only to flinch back into it as Charon swung again. Shu winced each time they heard an explosion behind them and felt an energy wave slash past, barely missing them.

Finally, when it stopped, they heard Charon screaming into the loud echo chamber of the room they were in. Shu looked behind themself and saw Charon had destroyed the city behind them - well more than it had been, turning the broken buildings to nothing but rubble and leaving a long trail of destruction from his Wakizashi swings that made the area look like a meteor had come in for a landing, tearing its way through the buildings and ground.

Shu felt the ground shake and jumped, turning back around to see Charon had punched the ground, having dropped his sword to fall to his knees screaming in rage. He punched the ground as though it had done something to offend him, before looking up at Shu with an even worse rage than they had seen in him before.

Okay, so maybe releasing him was a bad idea.

But Charon still wasn't able to harm them, so that was a good sign. Charon launched himself forward with a war cry, but even though Shu flinched just in case, Charon still soared barely past them and into more of the remaining buildings that were off to the side of the initial destruction of his sword.

He continued screaming in rage as he brought down the rest of the building he'd crashed into, moving to destroy the rest of the city. Shu tried to follow his progress as the destruction continued, but it didn't last long. Eventually, Charon stopped.

Shu picked themself up, cradling their injured hand, and walked over to where they'd last seen Charon. Shu carefully walked into a half-destroyed building, thankfully abandoned and devoid of human life like the rest of the Ark. If there were any monsters in here, there weren't anymore.

They looked around, traveling through and following the path of carnage. They heard him before they saw him. He was sobbing heavily. Shu finally found him against a wall, cracked with evidence of his fist nearly breaking through, but his punches had become too weak to finish it off. Charon was slumped against the wall, his fist still held up against the cement, but his energy was gone.

"Charon…?" Shu called gently.

He looked up through his watery eyes for only a moment before letting his head fall again. He pulled his legs up and buried his face into his knees. Shu carefully sat down next to Charon and leaned against the wall. Shu finally had a moment to fully process what Charon had told them.

Styx was dead.

The only other fal'Cie that had ever accepted Shu, the only friend on Gran Pulse that hadn't been a plant. Shu remembered visiting Styx at every opportunity they could. Rei permitted Shu to go off and play with her while she tended to other grown-up things, at least that was all Shu really cared to know about what she did. She was older and always knew what she was doing, so who were they to question anything? She might've tried to explain on one occasion or another, but Shu didn't really listen.

When they knew the location of the river, Shu hurried off to the banks and called for Styx, sometimes putting their hand in the river to get her attention. She would always giggle and say that it tickled. She would always say that ' _he_ ' didn't want her around strangers, and that she didn't want Shu to meet ' _him_ ' because she knew that he might not approve. After all the other fal'Cie that they'd ever met had rejected Shu, they didn't want to risk the one that had been the acception to be taken away.

" _He's back! I have to go! You should hurry away!_ "

Shu had, at first, found the prospect of getting caught terrifying, but eventually, it had become thrilling, the game of cat and mouse - although not quite, since the cat was the one getting chased by something else - trying to hide and scanning for places to hide in an emergency. They imagined a big, bad villain that Shu would outsmart and elude.

Shu remembered talking until their throat became dry, laughing with Styx as they talked about everything they thought was weird about nature, getting pulled into Styx's river and trying to keep up with her even though they were in her domain and were bound to lose any challenge.

" _What would happen if he caught me?_ " Shu asked one time.

" _He'd probably be mad that I kept you a secret from him,_ " Styx admitted. " _He might be so mad he'd make you go away and never come back._ "

" _Is he really mean?_ "

" _No. He just cares too much._ "

" _What is he?_ "

" _Hm?_ "

" _Is he a father? A brother? A friend?_ "

" _I don't know. I've never really known if there was a word for it._ "

Shu had asked again the next time they saw each other.

" _He says to call him a brother._ "

" _And do you think he_ is _one?_ "

" _I don't know. What is a brother?_ "

" _It's a boy who you love, but not romantically. It's a stronger love than friendship because you know that no matter what happens, how angry you get at each other, how much you disagree, you can't break that bond between you. That's family._ "

She hummed in thought, smiling as she laid on the surface of her river like it was as solid as the ground. " _Yes. He'd definitely be my brother._ "

Now, Shu realized, that Charon was that brother that Shu had once been so afraid of. He was just a guy who wanted her protected. Shu could imagine a younger Charon, seeing the little sister they'd done everything to protect captured by the big bad king of Pulse. Shu could see Charon accepting whatever deal Barthandelus had made in an instant, unhappy about it, but desperate to help her. He would've thought he'd only have to do a few bad things for Barthandelus to get her back - maybe things he really hated, but it would be worth it in the end. Yet a few days stretched into weeks, weeks stretched into months, months stretched into years, years would stretch into decades, centuries, and Charon would've slowly realized the mistake he had made - but what other path was there? To abandon the one person that he'd promised to protect and help?

Charon had nothing else. If he gave up, he might as well have killed her himself. And if he was free, what would he do? Would he be able to do anything without remembering how he gave up, how he killed the one person he wanted to save because he wasn't strong enough? What else did he want to do, what life would he want to live without her, with that guilt on his shoulders? He'd rather try then give up, and he got caught in an endless loop mired in endless atrophy.

Shu could imagine it, because all they had to do was imagine what Rei would do if it were Shu who was captured, held hostage while both were still just children trying to get by in the world. Shu hadn't realized it at the time, but Rei had looked after them so much, handling where they lived, where they would go during storms for shelter, where they got food, making sure Shu didn't wander into anything too dangerous and saving them if they did. Shu remembered the nights they went out together and played in the fields, pretending they were on adventures until Shu tired themself out and Rei gave them a choco-back ride back to wherever they were staying while Shu drowsily fell asleep to the rhythm of her walking.

They wanted those days back, being a little innocent child on the plains of Pulse. Being a little human or a lion cub, it didn't matter. Things could be hard at times, but they had their sister to look after them, and that was all they needed. They'd met Styx, earned their first friend, but then Shu and Rei no longer came across her migrating river. Shu always looked, every day, for any sign of their one and only friend. But as they put their hand into every river they came across, the little serpent fal'Cie of the river never showed up again. Shu had cried by a river bank for a day, finding a single Hyacinthus at a river, but Styx still never showed up.

When they'd seen her on the Palamecia, they hadn't recognized her at first. She had lost that sparkle in her eyes, grown up into a broken and dried up body. Shu wondered if she'd transformed since she was captured. Fal'Cie could stay in other forms for as long as they wanted, but it was always uncomfortable if they didn't transform for a long period of time - like wearing the same outfit for even just more than a day without changing.

Shu couldn't imagine what it was like to be Charon, but Shu knew that they had lost their one and only friend just after they'd found her again. Shu had been so sad when they thought Styx had left without saying goodbye, but now they knew that she was…dead? It was different then just believing she had left, it seemed so much more permanent, so much heavier.

Shu closed their eyes and leaned their head on Charon's shoulder, and though they felt him flinch at the sudden contact, he let Shu rest there beside him.

* * *

Snow was managing to block Raines' attacks, but was thrown when Raines unleashed another Seraphic Ray. Vanille and Fang Dispelled the positive buffs he put on as quickly as they could while Hope healed up all of the damage. Vanille and Fang started continuing their debuffing with Slow and Curse from Fang and Deprotect, Deshell, Poison, and Imperil from Vanille. Sazh gave the bare minimum of his buffs with Haste for everyone and Bravery for the attackers and Faith for the magic users, and Hope gave Protect and Shell before they went offensive.

Raines used Esuna on one of the debuffs he had - Curse being the latest one and the one removed - but continued his assault after that, going after Hope and unleashing his combo before launching him into the air. He flew up and slashed at Hope with his wings, sending him higher, before circling around and slicing at Hope before kicking him down to the ground. It was only thanks to his Protect status that he managed to stay conscious. Fang used Challenge to get the attention to her and defended with Steelguard as Vanille and Lightning healed him up again and they went back to attacking and casting to build a chain gauge.

As Raines went into a guard, they pushed him as far as they could, and the moment he came out, they activated the stagger. Snow launched him up into the air, and after that Raines didn't stand a chance.

They all backed up as Cid came falling back to the ground. He stumbled to his feet, but as he tried to stagger forward, he ended up falling to his knees, grunting in pain and panting as he leaned on his arms, his eight wings beating to the rhythm of his breathing.

Lightning sighed and sheathed her gunblade. "Raines…"

"Ironic, isn't it?" He asked, looking up with his glossy white eyes. "The only thing I wanted was a moment of triumph. How it ends…isn't important. Just do what you know is right. Trust yourselves."

Crystal fragments began to float up around him, and as Raines stretched out his crystalized hand, his entire body flashed with a blue aura, exploding in a loud crash like breaking glass with a blinding light that everyone blocked their eyes from. When the light faded, they all looked in shock to see that Raines had turned into a crystal, still in his kneeling position with his hand stretched out, a bed of crystal spikes now around his legs and his entire body glowing in the light blue that Serah had. Unlike her, though, his eyes stared open at them, frozen as if still trying to get his desperate message across.

"What? Did he complete his Focus?" Sazh asked.

"No."

They looked over to see Charon and Shu hopping up to the platform from the destroyed city below. The l'Cie all took defensive stances, but Shu held their hands out quickly. "No! He won't hurt you! I've…I've got him under control."

"Cid's Focus was to lead you on your way to the destruction of Cocoon," Charon said. "Focuses can sometimes be vague, can sometimes be won through technicalities, but Cid acted completely against his given orders. Barthandelus can't set some kind of automatic setting so that Raines went Cie'th the moment he even thought about going against his Focus - if he wants to turn a l'Cie Cie'th, he has to do it manually. But fal'Cie aren't known for granting crystal stasis. If it's even possible, Barthandelus wouldn't be the one granting it, let alone to Cid of all people."

"So then…what happened?" Hope asked.

Snow stepped forward, looking at the crystal. "All Raines did…was try to save Cocoon in his own way." Snow looked down in thought, before his hand formed a fist in front of him. "His  _own way!_ "

Snow suddenly turned and pushed past them all to go into the tunnels that continued forward.

"H-Hey!" Sazh called.

"Where are you-?" Lightning began.

"Snow!" Vanille called.

Their attention was diverted as Raines' crystal suddenly started glowing again, a column of light rising up and crystal shards floating out from him. His crystal flashed white, before it began to fade and dissolve into the light, starting from the tops of his wings and slowly dispersing the rest of his body into the pillar of blue flying up and above. Eventually, even the light faded, and Cid Raines was no more.

 _I think Raines was searching - searching for a way to make us understand. To understand the frustration of being a l'Cie - a l'Cie bound to a Focus. And maybe_ _…what it meant to be human_.


	29. The Task of the Fal'Cie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Literally the definition of 'Oh, shit…'" Sai muttered.
> 
> "This is not the secret to a long life!" Sazh declared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, I can tell when I've written a chapter past midnight because there are grammar errors everywhere.
> 
> Sorry I've been away for so long, but I came up with the idea for a Malec one-shot that took up last weekend, and I finally got the stuff from Amalspach I needed to continue my Heroes of Olympus story and I had to edit the doc given to me.
> 
> Oh, I also had tests in school. Those suck.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> :)

"Sai?"

He groaned and cracked his eyes open to see Shu's wide-eyed face above him. They really did have a face resembling a confused kitten.

"I feel like I just got tackled by a chocobo."

Shu giggled. "Well, you'll be okay. Your ribs are healed and you don't have a concussion. Your swords got blasted right into your chest before they went flying. They didn't do any slicing, but getting the blunt parts slammed into you wasn't healthy."

Shu passed him the golden and silver swords wrapped with blue ribbons around the hilts. Sai took them gently, feeling their weight drop into his hand. "Thanks. What happened?"

They quickly went into details on the fight with Raines, how he turned to crystal and disappeared.

"Don't know where Snow was headed, but we'd better hurry if we wanna catch him," Fang suggested.

"Right, let's go."

Shu helped Sai to his feet, a small smile shared between them. It probably meant nothing, just regular thank you smiles, but Charon couldn't help but feel his hands scream to strangle Sai for looking at Shu that way.

Damn, he had a problem.

Perhaps it was because of his grief over his sister's death clouding his judgment, perhaps it was because he was still angry that he hadn't been able to attack Shu, perhaps it was the jealousy burning through his mental walls that told him he still wanted Shu to forgive him and had a serious objection to wanting to kill him.

All of the above?

Still, the relationship between them made Charon's blood boil. It was subtle, but he could see that Shu was keeping closer to him than personal space should allow, and Sai was tensed, ready to spring at anything that would go after Shu or to help Shu should they need it. Charon expected Sai to have an arm around Shu any moment now, and his body wanted to tear him apart at the thought.

Again, maybe a bit of a problem.

His hands were having their own mental debate about whether to kill Shu or to protect them. He knew what he wanted and needed to do, but his emotions kept flipping back and forth. He wanted to get things over with before he could start thinking too hard about it, but now that he couldn't, he was stuck at a midpoint of 'Kill them or kill them not?'

Fal'Cie hormones? Were those a thing?

"Mataecharonsan, what did you mean?" Shu asked.

"About?" He spat, unable to resist the order to answer if he wanted to.

He had no idea why Shu had control over him; he'd never made a contract with the fal'Cie, he was sure of that. Not to mention that 'Mataecharonsan' was still his trigger word - still the name that would continue to haunt him. At this rate, he might even just forget his real name and never have the chance to use it again. But that life was gone now, so he supposed it was fitting. Yet if Shu created a binding contract, that meant that Shu would be allowed to come up with whatever name he wanted to control Charon - particularly one that was easier to pronounce. He summed it up to Shu had only ever known Charon as 'Mataecharonsan' and defaulted to that.

"You said those things about the two of us? Being the last ones, I mean. Two others…?"

Charon looked to the side. "The last two fal'Cie of our kind."

"Our kind?"

"You've noticed it, haven't you? The opinion, the feelings, the ostracization? You care about things, you're quirky, you don't know  _what_  you want, yet you have the ability to  _choose_  what you want. No other fal'Cie are like that. We are all crafted for a purpose; the fal'Cie on Cocoon, for example. Carbuncle makes food, Kujata creates energy, Eden handles security and government stuff to keep the world running, Orphan keeps the damn thing in the sky and all of the other fal'Cie ticking. All of them have a job and they do it the way they're told, no complaints, they couldn't do anything else even if they wanted to. The Pulsian fal'Cie, by comparison, have purposes, but nothing related to helping or sustaining humankind or the world. They have a bit more leniency, but in the end they all have the same purpose given to them and don't deviate from their path no matter what."

Shu looked down in thought. "Yeah. To bring the 'Maker' back, right?"

"That's what Barthandelus believes."

"You mean he's wrong?" Sai asked, sensing the undertone in his voice.

"Not entirely, but there's a little more detail in the end goal."

"What kind of detail?" Lightning asked.

"They're summoning the Maker by completing the task that the Maker gave them - finish the goal and he'll hopefully come back and fix the broken world he left. After the Maker comes back to see his creation's handiwork, there may be more that we have to do but haven't been told about. For now, the fal'Cie have their task and they're determined to accomplish it, hoping to draw the Maker back and get their prize."

"Mataecharonsan, be more specific," Shu ordered, a hint of impatience that Charon had the urge to smirk at lacing their voice. "What's the task they need to complete?"

"I don't know everything," He said, resisting his growing amusement at both pissing off his master as well as making Shu scowl.

They rarely found a reason not to smile, their optimism reaching no limits, but Charon found that Shu's scowls were quite cute in contrast to their constant grinning. Mostly because Shu was incapable of scowling properly without looking like a puppy who wanted a treat. And as long as he had a master, he would rebel in his own little ways. Over the years, he'd learned to twist around his words and abuse technicalities to get around Barthandelus's orders, and old habits died hard.

"I know that their task involves searching for a portal that the Maker was looking for - but apparently he got lazy or something and left his creations to search while he disappeared taking a nap or something. The gods Lindzei and Pulse were also following the Maker's orders, creating man and fal'Cie, and Barthandelus believes that building Cocoon and then sacrificing its citizens all at once with Ragnarok will be the way to find this portal. For example - Bismarck searches in the sea, Dahaka searches the skies, Atomos searches underground, etc. None of them particularly care for humans, but Barthandelus believed they had some use - being sacrifices. So, because of the other fal'Cie and their uncaring nature, he built Cocoon to grow the population big enough."

"So destroying Cocoon is part of the task they were given?" Hope asked. "And Barthandelus was the only one smart enough to figure it out?"

"Not necessarily, but Barthandelus believes this is what will do the trick, and in turn, all of the fal'Cie that he created to sustain Cocoon have the same goal - they have the same idea of success as Barthandelus. In essence, Barthandelus is only one of the Pulsian fal'Cie with a goal, all of them going about it in a different way - he's just the most proactive one. He went about the challenge by creating Cocoon and all of Cocoon's fal'Cie. You follow?"

"But what does that have to do with us being different fal'Cie?" Shu asked.

"You and I are two of four fal'Cie representing the stages of life: Production/Genesis - Hotareichan. Maturation/Development - you. Deterioration/Atrophy - Styx. Termination/Death - me."

"Rei was life?" Sai asked. "I mean, I guess Shu and Charon were pretty obvious, but…"

"She would always save any animal she came across," Shu muttered. "Whenever she was around me, it became a lot easier to sprout plants out of nowhere, anywhere. Once she was gone, I had to use plants from my own body if I wasn't around any that were already growing. You never noticed?"

"I guess…well…now that I think about it, there was this woman who was shot during the mission that I took Rei on. Everyone was sure she'd die, but she miraculously made it."

Shu nodded. "She can bring things back to life if they died recently enough, and she can give life to other things."

Sai blinked. "You know, I came home one day and found her with a fuzzy sheep, and my fuzzy sheep stuffed animal had gone missing."

"You had a fuzzy sheep stuffed animal?" Charon asked. "And you noticed when it went missing?"

Sai crossed his arms and turned his head to the side with his eyes closed proudly. "Yes, and it was adorable. It was a present from my mom when I was little, give me a break."

Charon gave a small scoff. "I never had a mother, so I wouldn't know."

"I made her give the sheep to a petting zoo where it would be cared for, but when I asked her where it came from, she just responded 'It was there.' I never questioned it. I figured it wasn't worth the effort arguing with her since she didn't know any better."

"The four of us each hold the potential to open a gate to the Unseen Realm, the place that the Maker wanted us to get to. Why? I couldn't tell you. He just made us fal'Cie to do it, and so the Pulse fal'Cie have been searching for it ever since. I'm not even sure if the other fal'Cie are aware of what they're looking for. I don't even know why it's called the 'Unseen Realm,' but that's what I've been…I don't know,  _programmed_  at my creation to call it. Barthandelus never seemed to acknowledge it, and so I kept my mouth shut to hopefully get his plans over and done with and fulfill my obligations without any complications.

"Barthandelus made Cocoon and all the fal'Cie on it, making Cocoon and Pulse enemies, and he believes that the way to accomplish his goal is to have one of us turn a l'Cie into Ragnarok to bring down Cocoon and kill the entire population now that it's big enough. Last time, Ragnarok wasn't strong enough to take the planet down, only scar it, as you know during the Great War - what you Cocoon people call the War of Transgression. He planned to have me transform one of you guys into Ragnarok when the time came so that you could kill Orphan - my interference creating a new kind of Ragnarok that's stronger than before when it was defeated."

"So now that you've defected…"

"I can't say what he'll do. Barthandelus isn't an idiot, though. I don't know what he has planned, but since I wasn't able to kill Shu and then myself, I have no doubt that he has some kind of plan to use us."

They walked onto an elevator platform and Sai activated the panel as they began to descend. He sighed. "All we can do is move forward. There's always Vanille's suggestion of waiting for time to run out."

"If nothing else, maybe we can find a way to save you all," Shu said, before looking down. "I don't want you all to turn into Cie'th. You're all my friends, and…I want to be able to save  _someone_. M-Maybe I can use some fal'Cie power to help you or…"

Sai put a hand on their shoulder. "The fact that you care is more than enough. Thank you."

Shu looked up and put on a smile. "You're welcome."

Charon felt a growl escape his throat and he clenched his fist, wanting to punch Sai but unable to do him harm because of Shu's order.

The elevator reached its destination, and Charon stomped forward, walking past the door that automatically opened for him and into another of the large areas with criss-crossing pathways. He slashed through some Pulsework Knights and Phosphoric Ooze with his Wakizashi.

Stupid feelings. He wanted to just kill Shu and get it over with, but the fact that he couldn't and had to watch Shu and Sai practically on the verge of dating already made him want to tear the entire Ark apart.

"Are you sure bringing him along is a good idea?" Sai asked.

Shu watched as Charon hopped down to the level below to clear out the enemies in his anger. "I…I don't wanna leave him. I won't kill him, and I can make sure he doesn't kill us. Besides, he…he lost his sister too. He needs just as much comfort as I do, and…he doesn't have anyone else left."

"What about you? Are you okay, having him around?"

Shu hesitated, seeing the others skirting along the edge of the room to hop down to the lower level as well. "I…he…he was a victim too. He's just as hurt as I am."

Sai stopped in his tracks and Shu looked up to him in confusion. "But are  _you_  okay with him around?" He repeated firmly.

Shu looked down and brushed their hand through their hair. "I…I don't know."

"He  _killed Rei_ , Shu."

"I know!" They snapped, before instantly regretting it.

They remembered that Sai had his own problems with Charon, that he had loved Rei too. Shu was so wrapped up in their own problems that they had forgotten about Sai and his feelings and rage towards what Charon had done. Shu felt a guilty urge to overlook everything that Charon had done and forgive him without a second thought, no matter how stupid they knew they were being. They wanted Rei back, but they also wanted to help Charon through his own sister's passing.

Regardless of Shu's previous relationship with Charon affecting them, Sai didn't have such strong ties to him. Sai was angry at losing his chance to do anything with Rei ever again, he had lost so much experience and happiness that he once could've had. Shu had memories of Rei to remember her by, but Sai never got the chance to pursue creating his own. Sai could remember their meeting, how they became close, just those few weeks before everything came down, and he would only be left with regret at what might've been.

"I…I'm sorry, I didn't…you hate him, don't you?"

Sai looked ready to respond, before he closed his eyes, his hand a tight fist, before he took a deep breath and sighed. "Yes, I hate him. I wanna punch him into next week, tear him apart for what he did. But…I know he was a victim too. Look, Rei would always talk to me about you. She loved you more than anything, wanted nothing more than to protect you. Whenever she thought about what might've happened to you while she was captured and asleep…I know that she had feared the worst for you. Loving your family like that? I've not experienced a bond anywhere close to being as strong as that. If Charon cared about his sister like Rei cared about you…I know that Rei would've done  _anything_  for you, no matter how much it shattered her own soul. She would've done the same thing if it had been her and you."

Shu looked down again. "What are we supposed to do?"

"I…well, I'm not sure. Rei…she didn't deserve this."

"Charon said that by killing the two of us, him and I, we could destroy Barthandelus's plan to have us create Ragnarok - a Ragnarok more powerful than the one during the Great War back long ago, one strong enough to destroy Cocoon. If…if he was right…"

"No," Sai declared firmly.

"But-"

"No."

"Sai, I can't…I can't live like this! I can't live without her, and you…I wanna see her again. I-If you turn Cie'th…maybe I can help you see her again too."

"Don't say that!" He snapped. "Don't talk like this is the end! We're going to save Cocoon, but you aren't going to do it with  _suicide!_ "

"Then what else can we do?! Tell me that! Please! Because I don't know what I'm supposed to do, and I'm scared!"

Shu's head fell into their hands as they sobbed and Sai gave them a tight hug. "I'm sorry."

"What am I supposed to do if we fail…?"

He sighed. "Well, you've always got Charon. Quite literally, I suppose. You can make him stay with you, right?"

"But…I just don't wanna force him."

"You can help him and he can help you, all right?"

"How?"

"Talk. You tell him how you feel, make him promise not to tell with your commanding thing if you want. Then, get him to open up to you too. You both need to get out everything that's happened to you, and you need someone that you trust to do so with. Charon did some bad things, but…he's not a bad guy, I guess. If you have to live for eternity with someone, I'd think that he's not the worst person to have by your side."

Shu walked over to the broken pathway that might've once been a ramp down to the level below. They looked down and saw Charon slashing through a Pulsework Knight with his Wakizashi. Though he was clearly attacking with an anger in his swing, he was still very elegant about it, treating the sword with care and showing evidence of his experience. He swung it with one hand, almost with nothing but his fingers, before he flipped it gracefully and then slid it into his sheath.

"Yeah…" Shu muttered.

Sai chuckled. "You look like a puppy."

Shu looked up, confused. "Hm?"

Sai ruffled their hair. "You're adorable."

Shu scrambled to fix their hair, but it seemed that their energy had been renewed as compared to last time.

"You're hand," Sai suddenly exclaimed.

Shu was startled before they processed what he was saying and looked to the deep scar on their hand. "Oh, yeah. It was cut by the Wakizashi. It's healing."

"Are you sure?"

"I might need to get some plants to help once we get out of here, but it's okay, Sai."

He looked reluctant to drop the subject, and Shu felt a hint of flattery that Sai was so concerned for them. Then, they remembered how Charon had been just as protective, and Shu had loved him so much for being that way. They had gone out on small missions together for the Cavalry, and Charon would always be asking if Shu was okay, wanting to take any hit for them like a gentleman. Shu didn't like to be characterized as a girl, especially a damsel, but they couldn't argue that they liked Charon's protectiveness.

Shu could admit that they liked feeling loved, mostly because no one except Rei and Styx had ever treated Shu like they meant anything. If Shu had never had Rei, all of the other fal'Cie on Pulse would've left them to fend for themself, alone and ostracized. For a long time, Shu had tried to make friends with everyone they came across. Humans got along with them only when they were disguised, and fal'Cie never liked Shu at all. Apparently l'Cie were really nice, since these ones accepted Shu as both a fal'Cie and a disguised human.

But Charon had been so amazing, caring about Shu more than they ever thought possible. And Shu was okay with being protected, being loved by someone who wasn't  _obligated_  to care - as Shu had been self-conscious about Rei's motives before. Shu found someone who promised never to leave, who made them realize that Shu  _could_  be loved without some prior relationship or just dependency in general. Shu found a reason to believe in their own worth again, and Charon had made them feel better than they'd ever had - especially when Shu had Charon, Rei, Sai, and all of their new friends together and happy.

And it hurt so much to be reminded that now everything was so broken between them.

The two of them hurried to catch up to the others, following them through the doors and down the hall. As the door to the next area slid open, they found an open room with four doors, including the one they had come through, one straight ahead, and two perpendicular leading left and right. Between the normal doors were larger ones, making the room one large octagon.

"This looks like the kind of room that will suddenly get filled with an enemy," Sai muttered.

Shu was the last one to walk past the door and an alarm suddenly went off. The metal behind Shu pulled up, closing off the exit and the larger doors slid open to reveal a wave of Pulsework Knights and another with a wave of Circuitrons.

"Bust 'em up or it's already over!" Fang declared.

They split into two groups, Fang, Vanille, Sazh and Sai against the Circuitrons, and Lightning, Snow, Hope, and Charon against the Pulsework Knights. Shu pressed close against the wall to try and stay small, avoiding the chaos of spells being thrown, bombs exploding, Knights swinging their arms in wide arcs, and the mini storms caused by the Headspin attacks.

At one point, one of the Pulsework Knights started stomping alarmingly fast towards Shu, who shrieked and dived out of the way of its swing. When they looked up again, Sai had stabbed his swords through the machine's torso, sparks flying, and the Charon surged forward to slice down and straight through the body, narrowly avoiding Sai who was standing on the opposite side of the Knight. But Charon was completely incapable of harming Sai even if he wanted to, and Charon knew what he was doing. Sai tore his swords from the inside so that the machine was sliced horizontally from him and vertically from Charon, effectively turning it into a pile of lifeless metal within seconds.

The two of them stared at each other, and Shu was almost afraid that they wanted to attack. Even if Charon was unable to, Sai still could.

But the two of them actually had a mutual respect between them, temporary, but still firm. They wouldn't let Shu come to harm. Neither trusted the other, but both of them proved their intentions were quite clear. They weren't friends, but for now they weren't enemies either. For now.

Lightning struck down the final Pulsework Knight with an Enfire weapon thanks to Sazh, while Fang Blitzed the Circuitrons before they exploded, the husks of metal shredded and destroyed. There were multiple battle-arena-like areas, with Stikini monsters and Skata'ne as well, along with the more open areas with the Imps and the Greater Behemoths. At one point, they were even locked into a room with a live Berserker.

"Literally the definition of 'Oh, shit…'" Sai muttered.

"This is  _not_  the secret to a long life!" Sazh declared.

"There could be nasties waiting anywhere," Vanille pointed out.

They went onto another elevator, which took them even further down in the Ark. When they got off and headed down the hall, they faced yet another room with a Berserker on its podium, whirring to life and hoping off.

"Guess hiding's out!" Snow commented.

"Come to Papa!" Sazh shouted.

The Ark became a repetitive pathway going from room to room fighting the monsters. Finally, they came out into a larger room that resembled an airship hanger, before an alarm once again blared and the door slid to lock closed behind them. Our of the walls, two large doors opened on either side and a platform slid two Berserkers forward. The two roared to life and hopped out, readying for a fight and blocking the way.

"If you're gonna Purge something, why don't you Purge this place?" Sazh muttered.

"I am right with you, man," Sai agreed.

"Why don't you just, uh…keeping sleeping there? All right?" Shu muttered.

"Let's do this, boys and girls!" Charon announced, the first one to charge forward into the battle.

"Keep up!" Sai challenged, running after him with his swords drawn.

Fang drew her lance. "We'll see who's left standing!"

"I hate this place," Lightning muttered.

"We can make it!" Hope shouted.

"No backing down!" Snow said.

"I can take it!" Vanille declared.

"I getting too old for this," Sazh murmured.

"Uh, I'll just be over here then," Shu squeaked, hurrying out of the battle.

* * *

"How do we get this door open?" Shu asked.

"It's old, but it's Pulsian tech," Charon answered, walking over to it. "See all those cylinders? All locks to hold the door from being forced open. Hydraulics keep them in place and are the key to moving them. This door is reinforced because it's meant to keep all the mechs inside this area."

"Meaning this could be a way out?" Lightning followed.

"Right. Fortunately, I know how this works."

"Then let's move it," Sazh prodded.

Charon moved and put his hand on the metal. There was no electronic panel like the Cocoon tech - something easy to notice and relatively easy to operate - and so they were stumped on how he was going to open it. A few seconds of staring at the door later and suddenly the red lights at the side of the disk-like door and the side where the locks were being held in place flashed to green. With a hiss, the cylindrical locks were released back into the wall, releasing the door as it slid down to reveal an open door.

When they walked out, they found themselves in another area of the ruins that might've once been a factory. Down below, in the now destroyed city, there were large collapsed office buildings, half buried into the ground. There seemed to be some grass down on the ground, and the platform that they were on was about 30 feet down. There was a structure that seemed to have once been a bridge of some kind, as well as a large metal building that was still standing tall. Around them, there were still walls that acted as a barrier, but no clear pathway out.

The door behind them whirred closed again as they walked forward to look at the ruined city. "Looks like it's a dead end," Hope announced.

"How about down there?" Sazh suggested, looking down to the ground below.

Vanille put her hand to her chin in thought. "If the stories are right…it's a maze."

"This place is a boot camp for l'Cie," Fang reminded them. "All kinds of ' _challenges_ ' from Gran Pulse are waiting."

"Challenges, huh?" Sazh muttered. "To get us all ready to go wipe out Cocoon?"

She put her hands to her hips. "We can wait here if turning Cie'th sounds better."

Shu and Sai walked over to the railing and looked down. "I think I can get the plants to grow us a ramp down," Shu suggested.

"Do you have a map of this place?" Charon asked sarcastically. "Your little plants should be able to tell you that there's no way forward down there. Just a whole lot of scrap. The place maybe once had an exit, or a path out of here, but now that the city's collapsed, there's no telling where it could be."

Sai frowned. "Maybe there's another path back the way we came."

"Or there couldn't be," Fang stated bluntly. "We've come a long way, and there's no telling how many sealed doors we passed, blocked off passageways. Forcing our way through all of them to see if they lead us anywhere will take more time than we have - and I also wish to keep my sanity, if you don't mind."

"I have had  _enough_  of this!" Sazh snapped. "Where's the way out?!"

"Way out?" Charon sneered. "Who said there  _was_  one?"

"Charon?" Shu asked meekly. "Is there?"

He shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe old Bart will come and retrieve us once you l'Cie are dead or out of time, or we give up out of sheer lack of willpower to go on. This place  _is_  a maze - and not just that, a broken maze. Or maybe Bart's got a plan to get us out that we have to find. This place is under his control and has been for a while. We can only go where he wants us and I can operate very little."

"Bring it on."

They looked over to see Snow punching a fist into his hand resolutely.

He walked forward. "My mind is made up," He declared, pulling out Serah's crystal tear. "Maybe I  _will_  end up a Cie'th. But  _until_  that happens, I'm gonna make Serah proud." He turned back to the group and held the crystal out. "I couldn't bring myself to admit that this tear…meant good-bye. And that's why I kept searching for her."

He tossed the tear into the air and caught it.

"But I didn't need to. Serah was  _here_ , the whole time." He patted his fist with the crystal inside to his chest. "Right here, watching over me.  _Now_ , I get it. What this tear's been telling me is to  _not_  let our Focus win." He held out the gem for them to see. "It's not those Cocoon  _fal'Cie_  we should listen to. It's  _Serah_ , and  _Raines_. Do you know why?"

His fingers wrapped around the tear.

"Because our Focus doesn't matter! What matters to  _me_  is that we protect Cocoon,  _whatever_  it takes!"

"Same here," Vanille said, drawing everyone's eyes as she walked up to Snow. "I'll help you do it," She offered.

Snow held out his fist with the crystal inside and she placed her hand on top with a smile. Her hand was quickly covered by Hope's. "All right. I'm in."

"Let's do it," Sai agreed.

Shu nodded at him with a gentle smile. "Okay!"

The chocobo chick moved to land on Hope's hand. Vanille gave a small "Hm?" before breaking out into giggles as the chocobo did a little dance of encouragement, dramatically rolling off their hands. Sazh held his fists up and hummed in agreement, signaling that the chick spoke for both of them.

Lightning stepped forward, crossing her arms, a small smile of agreement creeping onto her face.

"I mean,  _come on!_ " Snow exclaimed with a chuckle. "When a  _chocobo_  agrees, you  _know_  you're on the right path."

"There you go!" Sazh agreed. "That's right."

"Well, count  _me_  out."

Their attention was drawn to Fang, standing a distance away from the group. They let out a chorus of confused hums as she walked with her back to them.

"If you all want to go it on your own…"

She turned abruptly, drawing her weapon and brandishing the spear.

"…Then so will I!"

"Hey, hey, now," Sazh muttered. "Hey…"

"Fang," Lightning warned.

"Let Cocoon get what's coming," Fang declared. "They  _hate_  us for being l'Cie. What it to  _me_  if they die? Better that than watch a friend go Cie'th. If you don't have the nerve for it, I'll do it  _myself_. Go on alone, get stronger, and smash Cocoon out of the sky!"

Vanille surged forward. " _Fang!_ "

She stumbled and fell to her knees, her lance clanging beside her as one arm released it. "You turn Cie'th, and there's  _no_  coming back!" Her hand moved to the brand on her upper arm as it began to glow. "I'm not…letting it end that way!"

Her brand flared brighter as a glyph appeared around her feet, dark clouds gathering above her . It built up energy, and Lightning held her arm out to keep Vanille back. With a scream of pain from Fang, the energy flared, shooting a beam up into the dark clouds. There was a flash and the glyph appeared in the sky, but the center parts stuck out in concentric rings, stretching like those rings that were used for the ships when they were coming in for a landing. The glyph surged with energy before an enormous figure came bursting through.

It dived and came too close for comfort to the others, Vanille screaming and Sazh exclaiming in fear. Everyone ducked as it surged past, flying around the large area shimmering as it became clearer. It flew up and over the edge of the railing, transforming in mid-air to reveal a roaring anthropomorphic dragon-like creature.

"Bahamut!" Shu exclaimed.

Vanille rushed over to Fang, kneeling beside her. Fang looked up in a combination of surprise an annoyance. "W-What's  _he_  doing here?"

As the others ran up to join them, drawing their weapons, Fang looked to her brand in realization.

"Come to take  _pity_  on me?! Come to ' _take care_ ' of a broken l'Cie?!"

The Bahamut's large wings retracted to be replaced by smaller fan-likes ones.

"That thing's here to  _help_  us?" Snow asked incredulously.

"Yeah, ' _help._ ' That's what Eidolons do, they  _help_  us," Fang said sarcastically. "Eidolons are our  _salvation_. If we can't decide what to do next, they come put us out of our misery!"

"Wait, so you  _haven't_  made up your mind yet!" Snow jumped.

Bahamut held his large, clawed hands together as energy built into an orb. Fang braced herself for the hit, but Lightning moved in front of her with her sword held up defensively and the Snow stepped forward - significantly taller and more rigid than Lightning, holding his arms in a defensive cross.

The blast was thrown at him from a pretty close range, and though Snow stumbled from the force, he was able to redirect the orb of blue energy into the ceiling far behind them.

"Why are you  _protecting_  me?" Fang demanded with astonishment in her voice. "What are you  _doing?_ "

"Protecting one of our own," Lightning explained simply. "We can do without  _their_  brand of mercy. And we don't need a  _fal'Cie's_  orders either! I'm fighting this Focus to the end! We  _all_  are." She turned to Fang and held her hand out. "So please…fight  _with_  us."

Fang's head fell with a scoff, Vanille still kneeling beside her with her hands together in a begging motion. She looked up to Lightning, before then taking her friend's hand. Vanille and Lightning pulled Fang to her feet, before she walked forward to face the hovering Bahamut, spinning her weapon above her head and moving into a battle stance.

"Ready when you are!"


	30. Tell Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "A gil for your thoughts?" He asked.
> 
> Shu realized they'd been staring at Charon's face, who was lazily staring back in front of them with a gentle smirk.
> 
> "Not much," Shu said. "Just about you."
> 
> He chuckled. "Well, I am a bit distracting."
> 
> Shu chuckled and shoved his shoulder, but didn't put much force into it. "Shut up. Don't get cocky."
> 
> "Aw, I'm hurt. I thought you loved me!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bahamut is annoying, but the Gestalt gauge goes up pretty fast with a Saboteur or two and/or Ravagers. Sorry if the battle isn't that gripping, but Eidolon fights are getting shoved in our faces at this point and I wanted to focus more on Charon and Shu's…err…relationship? I have plans.
> 
> :)

Charon pulled Shu away, as fal'Cie couldn't assist the l'Cie in fighting an Eidolon besides keeping them alive long enough for them to stand a chance. The Doom spell would prove to kill them if they weren't worthy in the end, after all.

Speaking of Doom, Bahamut first thrust his clawed hand forward and inflicted the deadly spell upon Fang. The group went for their normal roles, defensive buffing, offensive buffing, provocation and defensive protection from Snow, and spells and physical attacks from anyone available.

Bahamut hovered forward and raked his large red claws in front of him, right, left, and then spun in a Whirlwind that sent the unprepared Lightning and Vanille flying. Before they had even hit the ground, Bahamut released an Inferno attack at the ground from his mouth that exploded in a geyser of fire right where they came down, Lightning taking the bulk of the damage and passing out upon hitting the ground.

Fang went into Steelguard as Bahamut released another Whirlwind on the boys. Hope was reviving Lightning and healing Vanille while Sazh and Sai alternated between throwing spells and attacking physically. Vanille was caught in the next Whirlwind, but this one was aimed at Fang so she didn't take as much damage as she might have. Bahamut then charged orbs of energy in his large claws before smashing them together in an Umbral Vise explosion. He blew out an Ignis blast this time, sending Fang flying as her Steelguard wore off at the wrong moment.

Snow drew the attention as Hope, Vanille, and Lightning all worked to frantically heal them under Bahamut's constant assaults, repeating the combo of two swiping attacks, Whirlwind, and then every other time it was just an Inferno attack or an Umbral Vise/Ignis. The group was having trouble gathering their bearings, and Fang's Doom counter was growing smaller by the minute.

Shu threw a Renew spell at them, reviving anyone knocked out and giving them all a substantial amount of health back in one heal. "Keep going! You're doing fine!" They called.

Fang pulled herself to her feet, looking over at the fal'Cie who was waving at them and giving a thumbs up. "Thanks!"

Shu smiled but then screamed, "Look out!"

Fang was then flung into the air by an Inferno.

* * *

Shu and Charon sat against the metal wall that they'd come through previously, watching the l'Cie fight the Eidolon.

"Charon…" Shu muttered, wondering what to say.

"What?" He snapped.

Shu tried to come up with something to talk about. They wanted to ask about Rei, about Styx, about him, but there wasn't much to say. At the same time, there were burning questions that Shu knew that they needed to ask, but just didn't have the courage to for fear of the answer.

"Charon…I've been going around from Cocoon to Pulse for years now, ever since the war, looking for Rei. But…I only met you recently. Did you…know about me before we'd met on the Lindblum?"

"I'm not sure."

"You're not sure?"

"Barthandelus never mentioned you by name. He just warned me, whenever he thought I had stepped out of line - falsely or not so - that he didn't _need_  me, that he had another person who he believed would be a lot less trouble to replace me."

"Rei said she woke up in Anima's Vestige and Anima had been raging about how it was Barthandelus's fault they were there, that they'd been put to sleep. That must've meant she was like you-"

"Barthandelus has a trigger word for you - meaning Rei was the hostage equivalent of Styx. Except he was playing his cards more carefully with you, giving you your sister and making you think you had your freedom."

"But I never made a deal with him. I didn't even know that he was here on Cocoon. Besides, when…when he used that weird name, I couldn't do anything. He disabled me, but he couldn't control me."

"I can't tell you anything about the deal you made, since I didn't know about it in the first place. All I know is that Barthandelus had another of the four fal'Cie he needed to give Ragnarok an upgrade and open the portal thing to the Unseen Realm."

"But why us? What makes us so special? Why are we so different - so  _human?_  And me. Why am  _I_ …?"

"I couldn't tell you."

" _Really_ _?_ " Shu prodded.

"It's the truth! Look, just order me to speak nothing but the truth; I'll say the same thing."

Shu looked down. "Mataecharonsan, tell me…what's your real name? Styx only ever called you 'Cinthy.' I wanna know, what's your full name?"

He flinched in surprise. "Hyacinthaja," He blurted, before averting his gaze. "Sounds nothing like Mataecharonsan, I know. I don't know where Barthandelus got the name."

"I don't know where he came up with Ereshkigala, either, but apparently that's  _my_  trigger name."

Charon scoffed. "Asushunamir is better."

"Hyacinthaja is sweet."

"It's stupid. I gave it up a long time ago."

"I like it."

"Yeah, well you know me as Charon, everyone does. So that's who I am."

"Is it who you  _want_  to be?"

"I don't know what I want. I want nothing. I want to get back at Barthandelus, but I can't, thanks to you."

"I didn't make some kind of deal with you, though. I don't know why…"

"Neither do I."

"But…"

His eyes wandered over to Shu in curiosity. "But  _what?_ "

"I have a theory."

His head turned to Shu completely now. "What?"

Shu looked down in embarrassment. "Well…you see…"

* * *

_Shu was lying next to Charon in his bed. The sheets smelled like him, their senses filled with the comforting warmth and feeling of their boyfriend._

_Shu had never felt so relaxed and happy, at least not in a while. It had been a constant struggle to keep themself together while trying to search for their sister. Rei had told Shu to stay put while they were taking shelter during the war, she said she'd be back, but in a week's time she hadn't returned. Shu had tried going after her, but only discovered that she had been taken by Barthandelus. Shu had narrowly escaped Barthandelus and then began searching all over both Pulse and Cocoon for where he'd hidden her. Shu had nearly given up more times than they could count._

_They had felt numb to the fear at this point, numb to the pain. They marched forward, following their goal, and now that they'd found the Cavalry, they had hope about stopping Barthandelus and finding out anything about Rei. They hadn't found much evidence that she was even still alive, but at the same time, there was no evidence of her being dead, either._

_But then there was Charon. He had made Shu feel more than they had in centuries. The swell of happiness in their chest was almost overwhelming. Charon might have seemed intimidating, and maybe his looks were a part of the equation, but Shu could see something in him when they were alone. He looked tired and weary when Shu looked into his eyes. Shu knew how that felt._

_But then Shu started seeing his eyes light up whenever he noticed Shu. They noticed how he went out of his way to be close to Shu, or share more glances than necessary, or make little brushes of contact that no one else would really care for but to Shu it made their skin tingle, even if there was a layer of fabric or two in between them. Charon was just as smitten with Shu as they were with him - something that Shu still had trouble believing and understanding why._

_Shu and Charon had been staying at each other's places, and since the doors to Charon's room went both to his workplace in Eden as well as the Lindblum, Shu didn't have much trouble visiting him while still allowing him ease to go wherever he needed to. As Shu learned to teleport, it got even easier to teleport into the room without anyone knowing it - although the fact that walking through the door was the same as walking through a portal, Shu still got a slight sense of vertigo as they entered._

_But Shu had found a second home in Charon's room, and everything about him made Shu giddy. When Shu had first slept over, the two of them had agreed that there wouldn't be anything too_ _…graphic, even if they were sleeping in Charon's bed. Shu had been awkward at first, especially since they were worried about Charon_ wanting _to go further, but once they'd made things clear, going over to Charon's was as comfortable as ever. Charon was so nice about it, stating he wouldn't do anything Shu didn't want and that he wanted Shu to speak up if they needed anything._

_Shu had cried, but not because of anything bad (although Charon had freaked out and it was adorable to know he cared so much). Shu was reminded of Rei, just like with Fang, but Shu still had trouble believing that anyone could be so nice to them. Besides, Shu was still insecure about their body, and Charon respected that ever since he found out. He was so amazing._

_"A gil for your thoughts?" He asked._

_Shu realized they'd been staring at Charon's face, who was lazily staring back in front of them with a gentle smirk._

_"Not much," Shu said. "Just about you."_

_He chuckled. "Well, I_ am _a bit distracting."_

_Shu chuckled and shoved his shoulder, but didn't put much force into it. "Shut up. Don't get cocky."_

_"Aw, I'm hurt. I thought you loved me!"_

_Shu giggled lightly, but in the back of their mind they knew that Shu hadn't actually said the words aloud. Charon had admitted it when Shu had first confessed and then Charon had kissed them, but Shu had meticulously remembered all of their encounters. Shu had never said they loved him. Upon this realization, Shu was trying to figure out a way to say it, but it felt too special for any regular occasion. They wanted it to be a memorable and cherished moment, but how to really say it was more difficult than Shu thought it probably should've been._

_If they said it, would it really mean anything anymore? They'd already been dating for a while and even sharing a room. If they finally admitted it, would Charon even realize that it hadn't been said before? Did it make Shu sound uninvested if it took them so long to reciprocate after Charon had confessed back when they'd first_  begun _their relationship?_ _And the more time that passed, the more nervous Shu felt about opening up. What would Charon think when they_ did _finally say it? Would things only become_ worse _if Charon realized how scared Shu had been to say anything?_

 _They'd admitted to loving things_ about _Charon - loving his smile, his laugh, his presence, his aura, the way he's nervous and insecure but pretends to be confident, the way he's overprotective, sometimes even jealous when someone else makes Shu laugh, his touches, his kisses, his cool warmth, his voice, his eyes, his hair, the way his nose crinkles when he's unhappy, how cute he looks when he's pouting-_

_"Shu?" Charon asked._

_Shu flinched and realized they'd zoned out again. "Huh?"_

_Charon laughed. "I asked if you wanted to go to a city and just_ _…hang out. We're flying over one now on the Lindblum and we've got the day off, so_ _…we can have a proper, non-work related date."_

_Shu smiled. "That sounds amazing."_

_"Great! I'll look up some places we can go to."_

_He reached over and grabbed his phone on the nightstand, slipping out from under the covers for a moment and showing off the fact that he slept shirtless. His human body was nice, muscular with broad shoulders and a gentle tan, but it made Shu wonder what his true form looked like. The topic had never come up between them, even if Shu was secretly curious._

_He watched as Charon played with the odd technology that Shu was still learning how to use ever since they'd officially joined the Cavalry. They stared at Charon, smiling as he browsed things for the two of them to do. He looked so excited to have a day off with Shu._

_Things were going better than Shu could've ever hoped. Shu wanted to say it so badly, but they never knew how, they always backed out. Now, on a lazy morning in bed planning to go out on a casual date in the city, nothing particularly special about the time and place, Shu had never felt more tempted._

_"I love you," Shu blurted._

_It was unceremonious, unplanned, and Shu felt instant regret for ruining the moment. Charon froze in his technology surfing, his smile falling away to turn to look at Shu, who was mortified._

_"You…you've never…told me that before_ _…" Charon muttered._

_Shu was unsure if it was Charon just now realizing that or if he had known already, keeping track just like Shu._

_"Yeah, but_ _…it's true…" Shu muttered quietly, averting their gaze and suddenly very cold as they wrapped themself up in the duvet._

_There was a long period of silence that engulfed the room, and Shu wanted to curl up and disappear into the mattress. The emptiness remained for so long that Shu worried Charon had teleported away, and Shu wanted to cry. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Shu had no idea what went wrong, but they wanted to take it back. They wanted to start the day over, enjoy their morning and date with Charon, but instead-_

_The next thing Shu knew, they heard a small 'plunk' of Charon's phone hitting the carpet and before they had any time to process what that meant his mouth was on theirs in a powerful kiss. Shu didn't know what was happening, but their hands snaked to Charon's hair by instinct and he pulled their bodies closer, tangling their legs._

_"I love you too," He declared before instantly continuing the kiss._

_Perhaps it was the shock of the moment, but Shu felt their entire body shake with a jolt upon hearing that. Charon had said it before, more times than Shu cared to remember, but something about that moment had made it different because Shu had finally said it back. It should've gone unsaid, Charon probably thought that it did because they were dating and the word 'love' was thrown around like any other word, but something had definitely changed between them._

_It was official; Shu had given their heart to Charon and trusted he wouldn't break it. Charon knew that Shu wouldn't hurt him - not easily at least, he was stronger than anyone Shu had ever met - but Shu was delicate, afraid because every time they'd loved something, be it their sister or their only friend Styx back on Pulse, they had disappeared and left them, by their own accord or just by fate. And now Shu was giving that power to Charon now, crossing a line that they wouldn't be able to take back._

_Shu felt a shudder run through Charon as he let out a small noise of pleasure in the back of his throat. He rolled on top of Shu and squished them into the mattress but Shu didn't mind at all._

_"Are we still going out today?" Shu managed to ask._

_"Later," Charon declared, almost growling in challenge._

_And Shu didn't argue as he kissed them again._

* * *

Charon cleared his throat, trying to hide his flush as he remembered that day as well. "So…that was when…we somehow made a deal when…what, exactly, happened?"

"I think…I mean, I  _assume_ …it was when we both said 'I love you' and then…I think it was the kiss that finalized it. I mean, I thought that weird feeling that went through me was just because of you, but…what if it was actually us making a binding deal?"

Charon scoffed with a bitter smile. "'Sealed with a kiss.' How cliché is that?"

"Did you…?"

"I felt it too. But why is it that you can control me and I can't control you?"

"Well, have you tried?"

He shrugged. "No, but I don't know what your trigger word is. Neither of us knew about the one Barthandelus gave you, Ereshkigala, at the time that we made the deal."

"But your trigger word is 'Mataecharonsan' - what I thought your name was at the time. Try my name and give me an order."

He looked over to Shu and then shrugged, turning to sit facing them. "Asushunamir…um…mess up your hair!"

Shu gasped. "How dare you ask that of me?! I meant tell me to pat my head and rub my belly, not something so devastating!"

Charon couldn't help but snicker before quickly forcing himself to frown and turned to lean against the wall again. "It didn't work," He noticed.

Shu sat back too and thought. "Maybe it's because you had already said it, you'd given me your heart long before I…I was able to give mine to you."

"I…I was giving you my trust, my heart, yes, but…did that mean you weren't giving yours to me?"

"No! I was! I swear!"

Charon slumped, hugging his knees. "Sure."

Shu growled in frustration - sounding more like a pissed off kitten than anything else that Charon had to resist laughing at - and shifted to their hands and knees to face Charon. "You think I'm lying? After  _everything_  we've been through?!"

"I don't know  _what_  to think anymore, Shu. Whatever these deals are, whatever Barthandelus and his stupid face want, whatever the Maker is, and whatever the hell he wants with the Unseen Realm. I don't know what's going on anymore, and frankly, I don't care! I just want this nightmare to be over! I'm tired! If I can stop Barthandelus from getting his hands on the both of us and end my own pain, what makes you think I'm not going to take up that opportunity?! But  _you_  are the reason everything around me has gone wrong, from Styx to my failed plans to stop Barthandelus!"

"So it's  _my_  fault that your life sucks?! Well I'm sorry for loving you, Chare! But I told you -  _begged_  you to tell me you were real, and you  _knew_  how much it would hurt me if I found out you were nothing but lie! How can I trust  _anything_  we did together as being real? I can ask you, and maybe you think that what you felt was real, but it could've just been nothing but orders to love me from Bart! I don't know what to think either, but I know that I loved you more than anything, and I would've  _helped_  you if you had just let me!"

"What could you have possibly done for me?! I made a deal, I wasn't going to sit back and be responsible for my sister's death, and-"

"And it was me or her, so you chose to be an idiot for her, I know! But was  _any_  of the suffering you felt and inflicted worth it? If she wanted you happy, if the solution to all of this was to just let her die and she was okay with it, then what-?"

"You just want me to kill her because of my own feelings?! You think I'd be that selfish?!"

"You are the  _opposite_  of selfish, you idiotic fool! You have a bigger heart than  _anyone_  I've ever known, even my own sister, but you care so much that you think you're not worth it! You are  _worth it_ , stupid! What will it take for me to convince you that you're worth more than you know?! To your sister, to all of the friends you've made, to  _me!_  I hate you, but I hate you because you hate yourself! That you don't value everything that I see in you! And it's because you're so selfless that we're here! I want Styx alive too! But I'd rather have her dead and at peace than alive and in constant pain! I know you're protective, that you have a heart too big to let go of anything and anyone, but things have happened the way they happened, and I won't have you sulking and saying that everything's over, because it's not! I need you now more than ever. If you wanna make up for what's happened, if you need someone to protect, protect me, protect Sai, protect all of our friends, and help us stop Barthandelus without killing.  _Please_. This isn't a demand or an order, this is a request. This is me, asking you, will you choose to help us? Because you need to make a choice for yourself, and I want to give you that option."

Charon paused for a moment, as though waiting for an answer to be forced out of his mouth. He cleared his throat and turned away, sitting back hugging his legs as though to protect himself. "What if I say no?"

"Then I'll let you go. You can go wherever you like, do whatever you want, but you still won't be able to hurt my friends. I'll protect them on my own, stop them from destroying the world. We don't have to see each other ever again. But…but I'll really miss you."

Charon looked up at Shu and saw a submissive, sad acceptance as Shu thought about the scenario. Charon's gaze dropped again. "Where would I go? What do you think I'd do? I have nothing left to live for."

"Nothing…?"

"What? You thought maybe you were something?"

Shu flinched before their face turned to rage. "Just because you're angry doesn't mean you have to be a jerk!"

"I don't want to feel anything anymore. If pissing you off gets me my peace, I'll take it!"

Shu slapped him hard enough to cause him to recoil to the side, but otherwise, he took it surprisingly calmly - so calmly that it only made Shu angrier. "You're mean, you know that?! Rude! You're stuck with us whether you like it or not, and I'm not letting you give up because  _you_  think it's all over!"

Charon huffed and leaned back against the wall, keeping his face turned away from Shu. Shu decided two could play at that game and crossed their arms to sit back against the wall as well.

Charon could practically hear the forced scowl that Shu was trying to put on as though someone was watching them. Charon silently sighed. He couldn't tell if he was happy or disappointed at the result of his provocation. He didn't know where to go, if not with Shu. And in all honesty, he was afraid to say that he had anything left to care for because he'd lost so much. He wanted this nightmare to be over, but if he still let himself care for even just one little thing, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to let go anymore. His resolve had already wavered and he knew he needed to keep his feelings at bay if he ever wanted to be free of anymore pain.

Life had taught him that all he could ever do with love was lose it, after all.

* * *

Fang managed to inflict Slow on the Eidolon but got thrown by an Ignis attack. Vanille and Hope were practically stuck in perpetual healing, while Snow and Fang were alternating back and forth between Sentinel and throwing spells. The Eidolons were commonly known to yield to spells and debuffs, and though Bahamut was relentlessly attacking, a few rounds of debuffing from Vanille on the sidelines and some spells from Hope and Sai did a lot more than it might have on other Eidolons.

Fang was throwing Curse spells, and even though they didn't connect, she was doing a lot to tame the monster. Finally, she waved her lance forward and Bahamut flew up, glowing with an electric purple aura. His feet locked together and folded up in half, his main body flipped so that his arms became talons for an aerial monster, the armor of his lower half detached and then snapped into place around where his head had been to make it into a body and tail, and four long, fin-like wings protruded from either side of where his previous ones had been.

Bahamut flew down as Fang hopped on and then circled back into the sky, hovering up to reveal Fang's new ride. She hopped down as the Eidolon glowed and flew off, dissolving into fragments that teleported it back to where it came from.

Fang silently looked to the brand on her arm. She had tamed her Eidolon, but did that really mean that her path was clear, her resolve firm? She had chosen to fight and to live, but she still didn't know what she would do if it came to destroying Cocoon or saving Vanille.

"Yea!"

Shu surged over and tacked Fang in a hug.

"You did it! I knew you could!"

Everyone looked over to where they'd come from and saw a begrudging and brooding Charon reluctantly following after them to the l'Cie. "Someone looks like they just lost an argument with their SO," Sai quipped.

"Shut. Up," Charon growled.

"Look! A new path!" Vanille called.

They all looked to where she was pointing and saw a glowing blue track leading down into the ruins and snaking out of view behind a building.

"Maybe that thing  _did_  save us!"

"I don't suppose you'd be willing to call it a sign of me being right?" Snow suggested. "No? Okay…"

"Look. Keep our eyes on the goal and we'll figure something out," Sai interjected. "We have a lot of questions, but we just need to look somewhere new for answers. At the very least, we might as well use our time before we give up."

Sazh put his arms up in a 'Why not?' pose and Lightning shrugged with her arms crossed, nodding towards the new path.

"All right!" Shu exclaimed. "Let's go!"

They rushed towards the path, Snow catching up the quickest and patting them on the shoulder as they marched forward together. The others all made their way after them, all of them content with the new direction.

_Hey Serah_ _…so I guess being a l'Cie doesn't have to mean you can't do what's right. Does it?_

* * *

Shu looked back to Charon at the tail end of the group, sulking. Shu smiled at him lightly. Still cute when he sulked. They waited for the others to pass to walk next to Sai, but saw a glowing ghost at the top of the blue path. Shu blinked a couple times as the humanoid shape began to become clearer.

"Rei?"

Shu surged back the way they came, Charon too sulky to notice as they passed him. The glowing ghost that matched the path began to dissolve and Shu knew that it was her smiling at them the way that she always did when they were being insufferably adorable. Rei never cared what kind of antics Shu got into - she would always just give that smile, hug Shu, and laugh it off.

Shu had been so distracted by Charon they had nearly forgotten their depression over Rei. But there was still an empty void that Shu felt nagging at them constantly. They wanted to go to Rei and have her comfort them over their boyfriend(?) troubles, they wanted her to laugh and smile as they discovered the wonders of Cocoon technology together, Shu wanted to see her happy with Sai. They wanted their sister back more than anything. But she was dissolving before their eyes. Again.

"Rei!"

But by the time Shu had gotten to her, she had turned to dust and the particles flickered out to nothing.

"Shu?!" Sai called from further down the path.

Shu didn't feel like they had the energy to move anymore. They just wanted to collapse on the ground and wait to see if she would reappear again. The void that Shu thought they'd be able to contain was torn open again and Shu felt a wave of fatigue. They fell to sit on the path, knowing that Sai was probably worried about them and wanting an explanation, but they just didn't have the energy.

Surprisingly, though, the next person they registered was Charon, not Sai. "Shu. Shu! What's wrong?! Did something hurt you?! Where is it?! Are you injured?! Shu!"

When Shu felt an arm on their shoulder they instantly surged to hug the person tightly before their tears finally started falling. Shu didn't realize how nice it was in Charon's grip again. They were too sad to let any of that stupid 'I'm mad at you' stuff get in the way at the moment. They didn't really process who was holding them in the first place. They just knew it was warm and there was a nice voice talking to them.

"Shu…are you okay?" That voice asked gently.

Shu just shook their head and gripped Charon tighter. There was a sigh and the clanging of a sword being dropped before finally warm arms wrapped around them lightly. Shu wanted him to hug them tighter.

It wasn't long before the warmth disappeared completely and was replaced by someone else. Shu opened their watery eyes to look around, trying to find the person again, but only saw Charon walking down the path as he sheathed his Wakizashi again. There was a moment that Shu considered chasing after him to get their hug back, but Charon's head turned to the side and he gave a small frown, maybe out of pity, before continuing his march forward.

Shu's renewed energy deflated like a balloon and they collapsed into Sai's arms, who was trying to make up for the loss of Charon. With that, Shu had lost Rei  _and_  Charon all over again.


	31. Off to Hell We Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I think he thinks we're lunch," Sai pointed out.
> 
> "Yeah, like a l'Cie-food buffet," Sazh quipped.
> 
> "'Cie-food.' Cute," Lightning deadpanned, but they were bracing themselves as the giant monster turned towards the ship once again.
> 
> "Funa…Funa let's talk about this!" Shu exclaimed.
> 
> "Guys, here it comes!" Hope screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May the fourth be with you, dear FanFic readers.
> 
> I hate school at the end of the year, so updates may not be very frequent this month. Hopefully the situation will be remedied by June!
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> :)

"Oh, wow!" Vanille exclaimed at the magical blue path they were following, skipping forward as though she couldn't believe the thing was solid but still transparent and made out of light.

"There's a shocker for ya," Fang agreed. "Guess it's time to 'Face the peril of our plight.' Sounds splendid."

"Whatever it is the fal'Cie want,  _we're_  the ones who decide what we do," Vanille pointed out.

"Leaving us in control does seem like a dumb decision," Sai admitted.

Shu was beside him, looking just as down as they had been when they had first entered the Ark. They kept looking around with paranoia, as though they expected something to pop out from nowhere and attack them all. Charon was suspiciously walking ahead of the group now as opposed to the end of it, keeping anyone from seeing his face.

"He's not an idiot," Charon called. He turned slightly so that the others could see his hardened expression. "Barthandelus has been waiting a long time for this moment. He's just waiting for you all to become stronger and confident in your ability to say no to him before he pulls out his trump card. He likes to make you think you have a shred of free will before he snatches it away from you. I think he gets a kick out of the miserable hopelessness on our faces when we realize he's given us no choice but to do as he says."

With that bitter remark, he turned to walk forward again and down the curving path. It wasn't a long trip, as they soon found the end of the glowing blue streak to find a large metal structure that looked more polished than the rest of the ruins around it.

"Hey!" Vanille exclaimed in surprise, pointing up. "Look at that!"

"What?" Sazh asked before noticing the large machine. "Whoa…"

Vanille surged forward off the glowing path.

"An airship?" Sai realized.

"And it's from Gran Pulse!" Vanille agreed.

The group got a closer look, the large engines towering over them. "It was one of the Ark's weapons," Shu guessed. "Aerial transportation for the machines and the humans would probably be useful." Shu looked around in their alert state before letting out a small gasp as their eyes locked onto something above. "And that's a  _gate_  to Gran Pulse."

Beyond the ship was a glowing green figure hovering in the air. It looked, from a distance, like it was a humanoid figure with a torso and wings and/or a long flowing dress. Though it seemed small from so far away, the creature's chest and body acted as the portal and would be plenty big enough for the airship to fly through.

"So…what?" Sazh asked. "That's our exit? Pulse or bust?"

"Could be one of Dysley's traps," Lightning pointed out.

"Well that's not good," Vanille muttered. "Do you think it might take us to Eden?"

Sazh grumbled an 'Uh-uh.' He walked forward, pointing at the ship like he was challenging it to a duel. "I'm doing the flying. No more of these ships taking charge of our travel plans stuff." He turned his extended arm into a fist and patted his bicep. "Only place this thing is taking us is where these boys tell it to."

Fang gave a chuckle of disbelief. "Ha! Really?  _That_  is a Gran Pulse ship."

Sazh turned to her smile. "Really? Leave it to me-"

Sazh put his fist to his chest confidently, but ended up falling into a fit of coughing. Everyone's heads fell in a sigh, but most of them broke out into smiles, even Shu.

"I'm okay…!"

Charon patted him on the back. "I'll help with the navigation. I know Pulse tech and Cocoon tech alike."

Sai looked to Shu who shrugged. "He won't cause us to crash or anything. He can't be responsible for our harm, directly or indirectly, as long as he knows that he's consciously putting us into danger."

"Either way, we're on borrowed time," Snow said. "So might as well go." He walked over and patted Sazh on the back a little harder than Charon did and Sazh recoiled like 'Are you  _trying_  to kill me, bro?' Snow didn't seem to notice, though, and simply continued. "We get lucky, maybe we'll even turn up some way to get rid of these goofy tattoos."

"Well, when you put it that way, it makes the deadly branding that's caused all of our misery seem so dull," Sai muttered.

Vanille's head fell. "But there's no way to do that…"

Fang put a hand on her head and made her look up again. "You never know. Maybe we just didn't think to look for one."

Shu shrugged. "I didn't get messed up in the affairs of branding people. I don't know how much about how it works. It's kinda just point and think. I once branded a nice lizard by accident while I was practicing. He's a crystal lizard now. I ordered him to go get me a bundle of seeds to play with and suddenly he flashed and turned to rock. Poor little guy…"

"If nothing else, we know Cocoon is safe for the time being," Hope spoke out. "I'd say it's worth going to take a look."

"Maybe. But what about your dad?" Lightning asked.

There was a moment of silence as the others remembered Bartholomew - who was in the hands of the Cavalry that Raines had once been in charge of.

Hope looked around to the others, but didn't hesitate for long before answering her. "I made him a promise. I promised him to keep going, do what I had to. He said only  _I_  would know what that was. The world's full of lies. There's  _no_  way of knowing what's right." He held up a fist. "All we can do…is believe in ourselves. It's easy to sit back and let people trick you. Like how the Sanctum had us all thinking that a l'Cie was some sort of monster. I'm done with their lies. Fal'Cie like Barthandelus, this whole Focus thing." He turned around to his friends around him. "From here on out I use my eyes.  _Think_. And  _act_."

Lightning gave a warm smile of pride.

"I might not make all the right choices," Hope continued. "But as long as  _I'm_  the one who decided what to do, there's nothing to regret."

Hope suddenly seemed to notice that he had everyone's eyes on him, mostly smiles from everyone except Charon, but he wasn't scowling, either. More like he was debating Hope's words in his mind.

"Okay," Lightning said lightly, as though afraid to ruin the moment.

Sazh chuckled and stepped forward, pointing to Hope. "All right. Let's do it! I'm with you, bad choices and all!" He gave Hope a light shake before putting his arm over his shoulders encouragingly.

Hope chuckled. "Of course I'm not sure how it's gonna turn out. Pulse  _is_  hell, you know."

Fang walked forward with her hands on her hips. "Oh,  _is it_  now? How many times have  _you_  been there?"

Hope laughed. "None," He admitted. "But I  _wanna_  go, and see what it's like for myself."

"Okay, people!" Snow announced, tossing Serah's tear into the air and catching it as he walked. He turned and pointed to them. "So, everybody in?"

There was a chorus of approval, head nods, hums of agreement, a "Right, yeah" and an "Absolutely."

Charon gave a small scoff, though he didn't look as dark as before. "Off to hell we go," He announced as he walked towards the ship.

Shu gave a small smile. Maybe he'd turn out okay after all. Even if Shu was burdening him, that wouldn't stop Charon from getting his happy ending, whatever it was. Eventually.

Shu then noticed a blue figure on the ship's engine. It wasn't fully formed, but Shu knew that it was her. the figure turned away from Shu and then dissolved into a stream of glowing blue dust that flowed through the portal high in the sky, causing it to flash to life. Shu started running for the ship to follow her.

* * *

_Snow and Serah were flying over the water near the fireworks dome._

_Hope and his mother Nora laughed together over wishes._

_Sazh held his son on his shoulders to make him smile._

_Fang sat at the bar getting a drink, taking a night off in her long search for her friend._

_Lightning looked up at the fireworks the day before her birthday before her Lieutenant would release her from duty._

_Vanille stared up at the lights in the sky, put her hands together in front of her, and prayed._

No one ever said the future would be easy. But I think we all saw the glimmer of a dream, somewhere in the sky that night. The tiniest spark of hope that we could change our fate.

_Sai and Rei sat on the beach as Sai explained things and Rei stared at the colors she'd never seen before, embracing the life she now had while she could. She smiled and rested her head on his shoulder._

Who could say?

_Charon teleported Shu to the roof of the NORA house and then uncovered their eyes. Shu was greeted with the sight of something so amazing they could only stare in awe. There was no laughing, no shaking off the surprise, no jumping for joy, or anything that Charon had expected. For the first time in probably Shu's whole life, they were completely lost at what to do and how they felt._

_Then, just as Charon was about to get worried, Shu surged and tackled Charon in a hug that nearly knocked him back and off the edge of the roof. Charon might've cried out in surprise had his mouth not been otherwise occupied._ _After an eternity of kissing under the light of the fireworks later, the two of them sat side-by-side facing the flashing colors._

_Shu had their hand in Charon's, leaning on him. Shu had pointed out their favorite fireworks, but gradually became slower and quieter until there was nothing but silence. Charon looked over to see if they had fallen asleep. But Shu was simply ignoring the fireworks and staring at him._

_"I love you."_

That moment has come and gone.

* * *

"Engines online and running," Charon reported as the ship began hovering. "Fuel at 70%, no maintenance issues. We're clear for take-off."

"Is that even possible?" Sai called from the back. "How long has it been since this thing was used?!"

"Trust me, I know this ship. This  _is_  my Ark after all."

"Wait, what?!"

"Hang on!"

He threw a switch and the engines fired. Sazh, in the pilot seat, exclaimed in surprise with an order to give a warning next time as he kept them on a straight path right towards the portal. They busted through the glowing thing in the sky and were surrounded by the streaking lights of a tunnel. Sazh grunted as he kept the ship straight, the jutting pieces of metal scraping against the sides, and no one really wanted to know what happened if the ship got knocked off course.

In a bright flash they found themselves flying through the clouds in the skies above a large natural landscape. The cabin had a glass ceiling, and so all of them were able to see the pink sky around them, frozen in awe at the sight.

"Stable," Charon reported. "The ship took a scraping, though. She'll hold for now, but when we land, we might not be able to get in the air again without repairs."

Vanille ran up to Sazh. "You did it!"

He pumped a fist. "Yeah! Told you, didn't I?"

She giggled as they flew away from the portal with Cocoon behind it. Not five seconds later, the ship was nearly struck by a large, roaring, flying caterpillar. Everyone exclaimed in surprise as it flew off and they got a better view of it.

"Hey, it's Funa!" Shu exclaimed.

"Friend of yours?" Sai asked.

"I raised him. Funny, he's gotten bigger since the last time I saw him."

"Playful little critter, isn't he?" Fang remarked.

"Yeah, well play with someone else," Lightning said, sounding annoyed, but she was clearly more concerned for their safety.

"Happens all the time," Charon said.

"I think he thinks we're lunch," Sai pointed out.

"Yeah, like a l'Cie-food buffet," Sazh quipped.

"'Cie-food.' Cute," Lightning deadpanned, but they were bracing themselves as the giant monster turned towards the ship once again.

"Funa…Funa let's talk about this!" Shu exclaimed.

"Guys, here it comes!" Hope screamed.

The monster flew towards the window of the ship, taking a large bite out of the window above the cabin. Vanille and Hope were instantly sucked out, but Vanille managed to grab a part of the metal frame and Hope's hand. Shu fell to the side as the ship tilted sideways and got sucked out by the sudden cabin depressurization, screaming the whole way and trying to get control of their flight abilities. The ship took a nose dive, the rotation threw most of them to the left where they grabbed onto the nearest part of the ship to stay with it, Vanille's grip slipping as the two teens went flying out into open air.

"Fang, get 'em!" Snow shouted over the winds.

"I'm on it!" She called, jumping out of the ship and launching herself in their direction, Lightning just a step behind her.

Lightning drew her gunblade while Fang summoned her Eidolith, turning and chucking it high into the air. Lightning took aim at the small object and fired, breaking the crystal feather in one shot. Dark clouds instantly swirled into existence as Bahamut's summoning circle appeared and he busted through, already in Gestalt mode for riding.

"Here!" Fang ordered.

She held her arms and legs out to widen her surface area as she slowed her descent, grabbing Lightning and pulling so that she back-flipped right into Bahamut's side and Fang landed in her regular position at the front. The ship went soaring past them, the weight of the ship beating the speed of the girls and Bahamut that had to catch them.

"Here goes!" Fang called, urging Bahamut to speed up.

"Hey! Over here!" Sazh shouted.

He and Snow launched off the ship and Lightning grabbed them as they passed, pulling with a sudden jerk onto the speeding dragon Eidolon. Charon grabbed Sai and chucked him aboard Bahamut as well. Charon dropped out and quickly moved to match their speed and flew beside them, looking around for Shu.

"You okay?!" Vanille asked, sounding happier than she should've been when falling to her doom.

"Oh yeah, I'm  _great_ ," Hope said sarcastically.

"Grab on!" Fang shouted as they met and the two were suddenly slowed to land on the Eidolon safely.

Bahamut turned horizontal again, flying back up to stabilize in a straight flight path just as they skirted above the tree line and the ship went crashing into the forest below.

Charon finally spotted Shu farther up in the sky, being lighter and not purposefully flying downwards, but they weren't slowing either. They had their arms out in front of them and were screaming, "Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop!" but their flying powers didn't seem to work very well under stress. Besides, Shu hadn't ever flown in such high winds before, and usually they were prepared, flying from a dead stop and slowly speeding up at best.

Charon reversed his path and started letting the wind help push him back up against gravity, using his own powers to thrust himself backwards as well. As he approached Shu, he sighed and suddenly started growing. His form shifted and he grew into a large, black, mechanical dragon, large wings expanding and flapping as he turned in the air to fly just below Shu's falling path and catching them on his back. He had ruby eyes, black scales and wings with claws at the ends.

Shu was in shock as he watched the transformation take place and could only stare as he looked at the fal'Cie below them. "Charon…?"

Up close, his scales could be seen, shimmering with metal and crystals, and despite the pictures of dragons Shu had seen in those fantasy books, Charon's wings were enormous compared to his body - nearly twice his body's length from head to tail each. They were connected to most of his torso, not just small little foot-long parts that looked like they couldn't possibly connect the wings to support the heavy mass, and spreading out to triple his surface area at the very least.

As his wings flapped to a rhythm, Shu felt a small breeze and could only imagine the intense force they were pushing down with - if the large 'WHOOSH' was any indication. Shu held onto some folds of skin at Charon's neck which they realized was neck frill that expanded to make lizards look bigger than they were. Charon was already enormous, so Shu knew that if anyone faced him in battle they'd be fleeing for the hills.

As they flew after Bahamut with the l'Cie, Shu noticed Charon's Kozuka decorated his ankles and his claws were a shining silver like his Wakizashi. Shu couldn't see anything close to the beauty that was Charon's Zanmato, but they knew that it was a special move, not his default weapon, so it must've been hidden in case of emergencies.

They flew together over a pack of Tortoise creatures (is that what they're called? Would it be a bale of Tortoise creatures?) wading through a stream, over the forest with colorful trees sticking out here and there, and then a pack of wild, Pulsian wolf-like creatures. The sun was setting over the grand plains, turning the clouds and the rest of the world a light shade of pink to add to the beauty.

Snow and Sazh were on the tail end of Bahamut clinging for dear life since they were in the most unstable position, but gathering their bearings as Bahamut stabilized; Lightning, Sai, Hope, and Vanille were right behind the second jutting out in the middle and sitting in the more comfortable seats for passengers as they admired the view in awe; Fang was at her regular seat at the front controlling the Eidolon; and Shu was riding Charon beside them as the two dragons flew forward.

"Home sweet home…" Shu muttered.

"Welcome to Gran Pulse," Fang announced.

* * *

Bahamut flew down near the base of a cliff where there was a break in between the mountains - a pathway leading inside seeming like the safest place for them since they were in a large and unforgiving world full of monsters with no villages in sight. As the l'Cie all hopped off, Bahamut disappeared, and Shu slid off Charon's back as he glowed and shrunk back down to human form, stretched and cracking his bones.

"I'm gonna go see if I can't recover that ship," Charon said. "At the very least, the salvage may prove useful for parts."

"We'll see if we can find a place in there to clear for a camp," Sai said. "The sun's setting, and who knows what monsters come out at night?"

"Actually Pulse gets pretty quiet at night," Shu said. "A lot of the big baddies sleep when the sun does. That's not to say that there aren't some night-dwellers, but there shouldn't be as big a threat once the light disappears."

"Then we meet before sundown at the latest," Fang declared. "We shouldn't have to go too far in to find a place. Meet us there."

The l'Cie all went into the valley to search, but Shu decided that they wanted to go with Charon and followed him as he walked across the plains to the forest where the ship had crashed.

"Why are you coming?" He asked. "I don't need to be babysat."

Shu looked to the ground, but didn't say anything. Charon could tell that they were feeling guilty about tagging along, as though Charon was a loose cannon that could blow at any moment and needed his handler around at all times to keep him in check, but there was definitely another reason that kept Shu from saying anything, justifying their reason for coming in their head. Or maybe they just had something else entirely that they wanted to talk about and were being all shy and afraid to say anything for fear of sounding ridiculous.

"Something on your mind?" He asked casually.

Shu looked up and opened their mouth to say something before stopping and hesitating. "Uh…y-you're form…i-it's pretty, but why did you…?"

"I haven't transformed in a while. I needed to stretch, that's all."

"Oh."

"Don't overreact, it's not anything special."

"But it is. It's…it's-"

"Let's not get overdramatic. It was either catch you like that, let you hit the ground, or carry you bridal-style."

Shu thought about what that meant and Charon saw the exact moment that Shu imagined the scenario because they flinched and started to blush. "Oh…w-well, I…I mean I wouldn't…I wouldn't have been  _opposed_ to it…" They said in a small voice.

Charon rolled his eyes and walked a little faster to keep Shu out of his sight and, more importantly, keep his face out of their sight. Shu quickly picked up the pace to try and match him, but he stayed in front of them, refusing to make eye contact.

Charon heard the low growl of a ticked off kitten. "Why do I get the feeling that you don't  _want_  to make up with me?!" Shu snapped.

"Make up with you?!" Charon repeated, stopping and turning to Shu. "What makes you think I  _do_  wanna make up with you?!"

"Because you and I are in this together! We've lost our sisters, but we're still here! You are the only thing that I will be stuck with for eternity, the only thing that I love left that won't just fade with time and leave me alone too! You want a reason to live, a reason to fight, a reason to believe in love again, that it doesn't always end in disappointment! You and I need each other, and I hate being angry at you, at you being angry at me! You being angry at yourself! Why do you look at me like you wanna kiss me and get so jealous over me and Sai-"

"I'm  _not_  jealous."

"-before then hugging me and walking away like I had offended you, or like you resent me for ordering you not to harm any of us?! You're an idiot, Charon, I'm mad at you for that, but that's only the part where you just give up! I'm not mad at you for anything other than-"

"Well you  _should_  be!" He snapped. "You should hate me with all your guts! You should feel betrayed, you should want vengeance, you should want me dead!"

"For what?! You're not at fault! You're a victim! I know that!"

He turned around, burying his face in his hands and taking deep breaths. "Every time I look at you, I see you, yes, and I want to forgive me, I do! But your eyes…"

"What?" Shu asked, feeling a sudden wave of self-consciousness as they put their hand up to their face. "What about my eyes?"

Charon sighed in exasperation, but his shoulders slumped in defeat rather than rage. "I see it every time I look at you. I see Rei in front of me just about to kill me, but she's the one that's bleeding out." He held his hand up in front of him. "I can feel…I can feel my sword inside her, killing her. I can see how she thinks of everything she regrets as she lets go, how she says she's sorry for letting you all down and then…" He took a deep breath and tried to stop himself from crying. "…and I see you screaming but unable to move, and I can't ever forget that  _I_  was the one who destroyed your life…"

"I…Charon, you're not the one to blame for all this. It was Barthandelus that started all of this, with you, with me, with Rei."

"But I'm the stupid idiot that let him do it!" He snapped, and Shu flinched back in surprise. "I let him control me, I let him make me feel worthless, I let him string me up like a puppet because I was too afraid to let my sister die even though that's what she wanted! I'm just a coward that wants to pretend like I can protect someone, that wants to feel loved and is too afraid to be left alone. I'm just a selfish bastard that needs to have someone who loves me, even if it hurts them in the process. And I know it, too. I'll keep Styx, you, anyone I care for alive, no matter how much they're suffering, no matter what they feel, so that I can trick myself into believing there are people that love me, and so that I can feel powerful enough to protect them."

"Charon…"

"Don't you get it?! I'm just a dependent, egotistical freak of nature! I don't know what I am, I don't know what I want, but I do know that there's only one ending for me, and that's death! Kill me, let me kill myself, I don't care, but I know I don't want this life anymore! It's gotten me nowhere! I've tried, and I've  _tried_  and where have I ended up?! I lost my sister, wasted years of our lives because I was convinced that things would eventually work themselves out, but the world doesn't care about me! I've suffered long enough, so why can't you just let me  _end it?!_ "

Charon was breathing hard, his fists clenched and his tears of frustration streaming down his face, his jaw tightened and his teeth clenched. Charon was facing Shu, but something told them that he wasn't screaming at them. He was screaming at whatever force made him the way that he was, that made him able to feel the painful and complicated emotions, ones that made him afraid, that allowed him to know joy only for the sake of giving him the pain of losing it. They were supposed to be fal'Cie, living single-minded lives with determined orders and no feelings to get in the way. Humans were supposed to be the ones to falter like this, to be hurt and afraid. Why were they like this? Who made them like this and why? In their immortal lives, would it ever get better?

Shu knew everything that was going through his mind, because it was going through Shu's constantly.

"Charon, I…"

' ** _I know how it feels; I know that it hurts; I want answers too; let me help you; it's not over, you fool; have you always been this broken inside?_** '

Shu reached to hug Charon, but he flinched away instantly at the touch, as though just being reminded that Shu was there. He wiped his tears like they had betrayed him for daring to fall, and sniffled back his sobs. "Nevermind. C…Come on. We've got a ship to find."

He stomped off quickly into the forest. Shu ran after him, but kept their distance, knowing that Charon didn't want anyone close to him right now. It wasn't long before they ran into the crashed ship. It was scratched up and scorched from being on fire, but by the time they arrived, all the fires had gone out, even in the rest of the foliage around it.

Shu checked on the plants and healed them while Charon searched the ship for damage. It wasn't long before Charon hopped out and walked under the ship. A moment later, there was a loud creak as the entire ship began to lift, and Shu jumped in surprise to see the thing hover up into the air, Charon below it and carrying it with relative ease. He flew off in the direction that they came with the wreckage of the ship and left Shu lying on the ground in surprise.

"He left me…" Shu muttered.

" _Oh, he's just being hormonal,_ " The tree next to Shu said. " _Poor thing. You look after him, dear._ "

"Me? What can I do?" Shu asked, dropping their head. "I don't know how to help him. He's tired, he's given up, and…I can't just force him to be okay."

" _Honey, he needs something to fight for again, isn't it obvious?_ " The bush told Shu.

" _Yeah, he loves you darling, that's a given,_ " The flower on the bush said.

" _Susu's got a boyfriend! Susu's got a boyfriend!_ " The grass chanted.

" _You hush!_ " The tree to the left snapped. " _Susu's having a bad day, and they don't need that crap from you little ones today!_ "

" _It's simple, Asu,_ " A vine said. " _He needs a reason to fight or he'll be lost._ "

" _You gotta be that reason,_ " Another voice called.

" _Yeah, it's easy!_ " A younger plant added confidently.

"It's not easy," Shu insisted. "I…I don't know where to start. He's afraid of loving because he's only known pain from it. If I hurt him…"

" _You won't!_ "

" _Yeah, he loves you!_ "

" _You couldn't hurt a fly, sweetie._ "

" _Well, they could probably hurt a lot more than a fly, but_ _…_ "

" _Shh, we're supposed to be helping!_ "

"But even if I'm willing, I don't think pushing him to try again is gonna help. He's…fragile right now."

" _Then don't abandon him until he's ready._ "

" _Simple._ "

" _Nothing time can't fix!_ "

" _You have to show him you'll be there for him. That you'll stay no matter what, and you'll never allow yourself to be taken away._ "

" _Just let him protect you! Seems like a symbiotic relationship to me!_ "

" _Win-win situation!_ "

" _I think you need a bit of comfort yourself, little Shu._ "

All of the plants in the forest around them chanted words of encouragement, and Shu felt warmer inside. Cocoon was so different from Pulse, being an artificial planet, and even the wildlife was much different. These plants were Shu's friends unconditionally, and they knew how to help them feel better. The plants on Cocoon were more laid back and uncaring about their surroundings, but these guys were working hard to survive and were wise beyond their years - even though sometimes it was hard to judge how old they were and how much knowledge they had considering they didn't exactly work like humans.

Shu walked with renewed energy, surrounded by their friends. They missed Rei who was always there for them to make them smile; they missed it when Charon refused to leave their side and always comforted them when they were slipping from their happy façade. Shu hadn't realized how painful it had become to be left alone. Shu felt like they'd taken a deep breath, and though they were worried about what to do with Charon, they felt more encouraged than they'd been in a while.

When Shu found their way back to the camp with the l'Cie thanks to their plants, they found that all of them had salvaged things from the ship, a lot of metal equipment scattered about and anything and everything soft laid down for places to sleep. Sai was working to hook up the ship's electricity to some of the technology since the ship's exterior had taken most of the damage and the wiring was mostly intact, even if the ship wasn't capable of flight anymore. Charon emerged from the ship shouting that the engines were online and Sai flipped a switched before the machines hummed to life, some lights flickering on.

"Success!" He shouted, giving a thumbs up.

Vanille and Hope were laying out the mats for resting, as well as determining the areas for girls and boys (Vanille's idea). Lightning and Sazh were at the newly activated machines, seeing what they were capable of, while Snow and Fang were setting up some of the useless junk into a barrier to keep monsters out, or at the very least ward them off. Shu went over to help them, having their plants fortify the barrier and make it stronger, as well as helping to disguise them. Their plants were happy to have Shu back, and so they offered protection from all sides, making them a large yet cozy base camp.

"I brought water!" Shu announced.

Their plants had thought ahead and gave them some leaves while leading them to a hidden spring with a waterfall. Shu was familiar with a good deal of Gran Pulse, but the place was big, so it wasn't a surprise that there were places that they didn't recognize. They weren't really sure where they were relative to where Shu used to live with Rei, but they didn't mind. It would've been harder for them to be in a familiar place that had once housed so many happy memories with their sister.

Sai had taken the liberty of also getting them some meat from the nearest monster, and Fang had confirmed that it was edible - since she would know the Pulsian wildlife better than him - and so they had a meal while discussing the fun yet risky first impressions of Pulse.

"Funa's gotten sassy in his teen years," Shu said.

"Taking bites out of ships seems a little more than 'Sassy,'" Snow said sarcastically.

"Well, what do you expect from teens? They do dumb things that their parents told them not to. At this point, I think he's old enough and his body's developed enough not to die from eating a part of the ship, but he might be uncomfortable for the next couple days."

"Serves him right," Charon muttered. "He took a chunk of my ship."

"Hey, you said that the Ark we were in was yours!" Vanille exclaimed.

He shrugged casually. "Yeah, I made it a while ago in case I needed an army for war to protect…well, I just wanted to make sure I was prepared. The Fifth Ark was the fifth one made, obviously, but when Barthandelus enslaved me, he took the opportunity to seize my Ark as well. I never knew what he had planned for it, but I think we have our answer."

Charon did a pretty good job of hiding his sour mood, but his position among the l'Cie wasn't a buddy-buddy as it could've been before. Charon still looked like he'd murder them on the spot if they even looked at him funny, but they all knew he was powerless, Charon most of all. Shu knew that Charon wasn't as confident or calm as he was pretending to be, and Shu felt their chest clench in guilt.

They wanted to help Charon so much, but they knew he was really tired of everything. Would forcing him to go on really be the best thing? Would making him miserable just to hope that he could convince him there were good things in life really be worth it? What if Shu couldn't do it? What if they failed and only caused Charon more unnecessary pain?

Charon caught Shu staring and scoffed, lying down on the mat he was on and putting his back to the group. Everyone decided to turn in, but Shu volunteered to tend to the fire, since they didn't need sleep and their plants could help with hiding the light and smoke from monsters looking for a late-night snack.

Shu looked at Charon the entire time, still trying to decide how to word things, how to apologize, how to help him. Shu wanted to speak up, but they knew that once they started down a path, they couldn't stop. What would helping Charon really mean? Would it be selfish to risk more of his pain from Shu's hope that they could make up? Would letting him go…?

Would that make him happy, give him more peace than Shu ever could?


	32. I Want to Be Normal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shu let out a small smile, but their eyes were watering with tears. "We're messed up, aren't we?"
> 
> Charon shrugged. "Pretty much, yeah."
> 
> "Oh, just shut up and kiss me!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: I take way too long to make a point because I think about what I want to say, but it takes so long to type it that I forget what I planned to say and try to make a half-assed attempt at saying it and then remember later, try to type it, and the process repeats itself. It's a truly grueling cycle, this FanFic stuff. But I do it anyway because I love it!
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> :)

"Charon…?" Shu whispered.

Charon wanted to stay quiet and pretend he was asleep, but he knew that the grass would probably rat him out to Shu if he did try and fake them out. He really wasn't in the mood for talking. He was emotionally drained. After everything that had happened, he was torn about what he wanted, and all of the confusion had stressed him out more and more until he eventually broke. He hadn't planned to tell Shu about all of his insecurities, but when things started, he couldn't stop.

He knew he was broken somehow, he'd always known, but he'd thought he was okay, that he'd found a way to survive with those who loved him. But who was he kidding? He was vain, selfish, and egotistical. He needed to feel like he was special, important, loved, no matter what the cost. What kind of sick person kept someone alive and made them suffer just because they wanted to know that they felt worshiped? Why was he like this?

Shu, Rei, Styx, all this dumb stuff about them being special fal'Cie, he never wanted to be this way, but all the others were strong. Styx was strong as a little girl, wanting to grow up and be independent, and she probably only stayed with Charon out of obligation. Rei was a strong woman, curious, and unafraid of anything, willing to do anything to protect Shu. Shu…they could make friends with anyone. They were happy and quirky, could be entertained by even the smallest things, and they could sway anyone to their side of an argument with a little persuasion. They were so happy.

All of them were strong. And Charon was a coward.

He couldn't handle having emotions, they were too overwhelming. They hurt. They made him do stupid things and lose all his happiness  _because_  he was afraid of losing it. He hated emotions. He wanted them gone. He wanted the pain to stop. He didn't want to be afraid anymore, he didn't want the weight of his mistakes weighing him down anymore, he didn't want to keep seeing Rei's death, feeling the terror surge through him like tearing open a wound and dumping it in a bath full of salt. He didn't want to see Shu's crying yet frozen face, reminding him of the horror he felt when he realized what he'd done in front of them.

"Charon?" Shu pressed.

" ** _How can you even look at me?_** " He wondered.

"Chare-Bear, I know you're awake."

" ** _Don't call me that,_** " He wanted to say aloud, but he was just too tired.

For a long moment, Shu was silent, and Charon had hoped that they'd given up. A moment later, Shu spoke up again. "You know, you're not the only one who's selfish."

Charon stiffened, but he hoped they didn't notice.

He heard the sound of Shu using a stick to poke at the fire. "I act innocent and weak, I make people want to protect me, and I…I'm dependent on others. I like being spoiled, I make people do everything for me because I can't fend for myself. When Rei died…"

There was a moment of hesitation and a small sniffle.

"…when Rei died, all I could think about was ' _What do I do now that I'm alone?_ ' I loved her, but now that I think about it…I-I just loved her because she helped me survive, because she could protect me, gave me a life and handled all the complicated stuff. I'm a child. I can't do anything on my own and know nothing about survival. Rei looked after me, my plants have to always help me, and you…even you I just used because I was alone and afraid. If you think you're bad, you've got nothing on me. You're only guilty of caring too much. I'm guilty of needing to be cared for."

Charon's resistance broke and he rolled over to face Shu, whose sad face was illuminated by the fire. Shadows danced across them and around them, making Charon see a darker side of Shu that he never thought existed. How could this pain exist in the happy and cheerful angel that he'd fallen for?

"I need to feel appreciated," Charon said. "I'll go to terrible lengths to save people that I love…but I only love them because they make me feel special. I'm petty and narcissistic, and I've caused so much pain because of my own selfish desires."

"You loved your sister, Chare," Shu insisted. "Sure, she loved you too, but is it really a crime to want to be adored by your family? I just care about people because they can look after me, I care about my own well being, how someone else can preserve my happiness and not who someone is."

Charon sighed. "So we're both just egotistical freaks that need to be loved above all else? That can't care without knowing everything is just because of our selfish dependencies? That can't…love?"

Shu gave a small, defeated nod. "I…suppose so."

There was a deafening silence between them, Shu staring at the crackling fire.

"Charon?" They finally spoke up. "Would it…would it make you happy if I let you kill me and yourself?"

Charon's head snapped up and Shu pulled their knees to their chest.

"I just want you alive because I want you to protect me now that Rei's gone and Sai…he won't stay forever. I'm…making you suffer because of my selfishness. I don't wanna do that to you…I don't wanna let my dumb feelings hurt anyone else. You were right. I ruined your life. If you'd never met me, you wouldn't be so sad. Maybe you could've saved Styx. If things had been different, if we'd never crossed paths, you'd still have the chance for happiness…"

Charon sat up and crawled his way over to Shu, who shrank into themself and avoided Charon's gaze. Charon heard small sniffles and saw that Shu was trying to hide their tears.

"What made you love me?" He asked. "I've never really known. Who could possibly love me? Why? What about me seemed lovable in any way? I was so hardened when you met me, so weary and broken as I petrified and tried to block out everything."

Shu looked up and met his gaze, searching as though they'd find the answers somewhere if they looked hard enough.

"Well…being hot certainly did contribute…" They finally whispered.

Charon couldn't help it.

He laughed. He let out a - probably way too loud - cackle and fell against Shu laughing. He was going insane, and he knew it, but he didn't care anymore.

Shu pursed their lips in an attempt to stop a smile from escaping, before shoving Charon off of them gently. "Stop that. It's true!"

"You know what I fell in love with?" Charon asked, picking himself up. "I loved your bravery. I was jealous of you. You could be yourself, and you weren't afraid to show your true colors no matter how others would respond. I wished I could be that way. Be free of worry, be able to smile and laugh. I saw you giggle at the smallest things and I felt what I thought was hatred. The truth is, I knew that if I wanted to avoid you exposing me, all I had to do was keep my distance. I walked up to you that day because I wanted to know your secret. I wanted to know how you do it, or maybe I wanted to prove that you weren't as good as I thought you were."

Shu scanned him with a worried expression. "And…what did you find?"

Charon smiled gently. "I was so wrong. You blew me away. I didn't hate you, I was jealous of you. But more than that, I admired you. You were more beautiful than I ever thought possible, and I knew that going to you was playing with fire, but I didn't care. Being with you made me  _feel_  again. I was happy and warm inside, and…I was more okay than I'd ever been in such a long time. And I wanted to feel that way again, I felt a surge of joy just from seeing you. I knew I was just leading myself to my own ruin, but I wanted more. You were so addictive because suddenly I knew that this was what I wanted."

"Me?" Shu asked meekly.

He nodded. "You."

Shu looked down. "I always thought I wasn't worthy of you, you know?"

"What? That couldn't be farther from the truth."

"Yeah, well…when I first saw you, I thought ' _This person is so beyond me._ ' You were ethereal, powerful, commanding, took no B.S. from anyone, and I was just…little Shu."

"But you can fight. You've got an awesome-looking sword, you can summon any plant to your aid, and let's be honest, that's pretty badass to me."

Shu looked down and tried to their flush in the firelight. "W-Well, it's not much. I couldn't even fly or teleport when we first met."

"But you're learning."

"I should've been able to already. Rei coddled and cosseted me to the point where I grew up dependent. And it's not her fault, she just wanted to keep me safe from all the dangers in the world. But I let her. I never wanted to grow up, never wanted to start learning to fend for myself, because that would mean that I one day wouldn't need her anymore, and that she would leave me."

"Silly. She would've never left you, no matter how strong she got."

"And I should've known that, I should've trusted her."

"You  _did_  trust her, more than anything in the world. You were just afraid that there were things that would be out of your control that would take her away, and so you clung to her tighter and tighter."

Shu's head dropped. "But I lost her, in the end. And I'm so afraid of losing you that…I'll force you to keep on suffering."

Charon took their chin and made them look up at him. Shu looked afraid, afraid of what he saw when he looked at their eyes. There was a desperation, a fear of being alone, a feeling that Charon knew too well. Both of them were so afraid of having no one left that they would do stupid things, or they'd just give up. But Shu was willing to sacrifice their happiness for Charon's.

"What part of that makes you selfish in anyway?" Charon asked.

"Huh?" Shu blinked.

"You'd really do it? Give the order for a…mutual suicide? Just because I'm…a depressed idiot?"

Shu tried to avert their gaze, but it wasn't easy with Charon holding their chin in place. Still, they didn't struggle to get free, even though it would be so easy. "W-Well I…I don't  _want_  to, by any means. I…but if you're…I don't want you to suffer anymore because of me…"

"Flower, it's not your fault. It never was."

Shu's eyes snapped back to attention. "B-But you said-"

"I lied. Obviously. I was trying to find a place to put the blame, something to be angry at in front of me, and I took it out on you. I'm sorry. It was easier than facing the fact that no amount of apologies could make you forgive me for everything I did."

"I forgave you a long time ago, Chare."

Charon chuckled humorlessly. "I don't understand how. But I didn't forgive myself, Shu. I never can. And I know it. I know that if I hadn't ever met you, I'd have never been happy, knowing everything I did. The only way to get Styx back was to have let Barthandelus win. No matter what happened, what is happening, and what will happen, after everything that I've already gone through long before we'd met, I'd have never wanted to give that bastard the satisfaction of using me forever. I'll never forgive myself, but I can't tell you things would've turned out better if I hadn't ever met you. I'm just selfish like that."

Shu let out a small smile, but their eyes were watering with tears. "We're messed up, aren't we?"

Charon shrugged. "Pretty much, yeah."

"Oh, just shut up and kiss me!"

Shu didn't give him much of a choice as they pulled Charon down into a kiss like their life depended on it. Charon wouldn't admit aloud how much he'd missed the feeling of kissing Shu. He really did have an addiction, probably an unhealthy one, but at the moment, he didn't care. He threw caution in the wind and shoved Shu back and into one of the mats that they had to sleep on, crawling on top of them and never breaking the kiss. Charon wasn't one for making mistakes, but Shu was the only thing that had convinced him to do what he wanted. The only thing that had convinced him to be free, be himself, be happy.

" ** _And you're the one that makes them suffer in return._** "

Charon broke away and looked around frantically.

"Chare?" Shu asked. "What's wrong?"

Shu moved to grab Charon's hand and pulled him close so he could feel their warmth as they wrapped him in a hug.

"It's okay, Charon. I'm sorry."

Charon looked around, but there was no one.

He slowly relaxed into Shu's grip and they pulled back and laid down, patting the mat beside them. "Come on. It's not exactly your bed, but it'll have to do."

Charon slowly moved to lie beside Shu, and they smiled weakly. "Things will be okay, Chare-Bear. It'll just take time."

Charon nodded and watched as an exhausted Shu passed out. Charon waited a while for anymore threats or the voice to come back, but there was nothing. Charon waved his hand as the fire began to die in order to rekindle it twice, even adding some wood that Shu had prepared.

Eventually, he laid down and tried to get rest. He hadn't slept since he had his nightmare about Styx. Sleeping with Shu always seemed to calm him nightmares. This time, that wasn't the case.

* * *

_"You ruined them."_

_He turned around to see Rei walking up to him._

_Where was he? There was water flowing beside him and a spring not far below. He heard the sounds of a waterfall nearby and saw the caves made by a maze of rocks in a cavern around him._

_"How dare you have the gall to ask for forgiveness after what you've done?!" She spat._

_Rei was just a couple inches shy of being a whole foot shorter than Charon, but as she stalked forward, Charon had no doubt that she could throw him like a rag doll no problem and was more intimidating than anything he'd ever faced._

_"You killed me! I won't let you kill my sibling too!"_

_"I'd never hurt Shu…" Charon muttered. "I don't want too."_

_She scoffed. "Yeah, anymore. You nearly killed them back in the Ark."_

_"But they stopped me! I can't lay a finger on them if I wanted to! I can't hurt them!"_

_"You'll find a way. I know you. You're ruthless, you'll stop at nothing to make those you love suffer, you selfish freak!"_

_"I-"_

_"You know, I wanted to be your friend, once. When Shu first told me about you, they smiled brighter than I ever thought possible! They beamed in a way that I could never have made them! I accepted you because I thought you'd never hurt me, that you'd never hurt Shu! How wrong I was!"_

_When Rei was close enough to kiss Charon she suddenly stopped as purple blood started seeping from her mouth. Charon suddenly realized he was holding Zanmato in her stomach and his hand trembled. He tried to let go of it, but the sword wouldn't let him. He tried to pull it out, but his arm refused to move._

_"You killed me," Rei spat, her speech gargled by the dark liquid seeping through her throat, but she didn't seem to notice._

_Her eyes looked at him with hatred, but he saw the sadness and weariness that had been there before. Charon knew what he'd seen the first time he'd killed her. It wasn't rage, it was regret, it was betrayal - but none of it had ever been directed at Charon. 'I trusted you.' She blamed herself for trusting Charon, she blamed herself for dying, she blamed herself for leaving behind Shu and Sai, she blamed herself for all of Charon's mistakes._

_"I'm sorry…" Charon sobbed. "I'm so sorry…!"_

_She studied him for a moment before her gaze hardened and she flashed for just a moment. In an instant, she was replaced by Shu, bleeding out with green blood the same way Rei had. Charon wanted to scream, he wanted to recoil, he wanted to let go of the sword in his hand, but he couldn't do any of that. He could only watch as Shu stepped forward, digging Zanmato deeper into their stomach and coughing up a large amount of blood that fell to Charon's hand, still gripping the weapon against his will. And Shu barely seemed to notice the pain they were in._

_"You killed my sister, I killed yours. All that can exist between us is sorrow with a poisonous relationship. So why don't you just end it already?!"_

_Charon was on the verge of breaking down, but something wouldn't let him. He tried to speak, but it only came out as a broken stutter. "Y-You…k-k-killed…?"_

_Shu smiled, the green blood still seeping out. "You don't know, do you? How she killed herself?"_

_The scene around them shifted and Charon's gaze was drawn to the side where he and Shu were sitting on the bed in his room, Charon on his phone while Shu looked over his shoulder._

_"_ I think you should move that one there so that those ones disappear, _" Shu said, pointing at the screen._

 _"_ But if we move this one and get rid of these, then we can make more of them disappear at once, _" The other Charon argued._

 _"_ And if we move these over here, then we can make those ones into a long chain. _"_

 _"_ Not if we move that one. Then we ruin the whole thing. _"_

 _Shu dropped their head on Charon's shoulder with a moan of anguish. "_ This game is too hard! _"_

 _"_ It's just Cactuar Crush, Shu. The rules can't be simpler. _"_

_Shu waved their hand and a plant started growing from their wrist to grab the phone from Charon as Shu started tapping the screen and playing._

_"_ Hey! _" Other Charon protested, trying to get the phone back, but Shu's vines started growing around him to hold him back. "_ That's cheating! _" He complained._

 _"_ I shall win this game! _" Shu declared._

_Charon took a deep breath and blew his dark smoke that made Shu's vines release him as he dived for Shu to tackle them into the mattress._

_"_ No! I've almost won! _" Shu protested._

 _"_ Too bad, cheater! _"_

_Shu pushed Charon back, but he had longer arms. He snatched the phone, but Shu held their open palm out and black vines started emerging and fought him back for it. Charon surrounded himself in his black smog, but the vines didn't give._

_"_ Ha! Poisonous plants made from your power! _" Shu boasted, taking back the phone. "_ Plants can adapt to anything, given enough time! _"_

_Shu went back to the game, concentrating with their tongue slightly sticking out in thought, and Charon couldn't help but snicker and stopped struggling just to watch._

_The victory theme played from the phone and Shu held it up in triumph. "_ Tada! _"_

 _Charon laughed. "_ Congratulations. Now can you let me go? _"_

 _Shu put their hand to their chin, resting it on their other arm across their torso and humming in deep consideration. "_ Hmm…nah! _"_

 _Charon forced a frown. "_ Rude. _"_

_Shu looked like they were torn, but in reality they were really just trying as hard as they could to hold out against their natural urge to be nice and take pity - on Charon especially._

_"_ Well…okay, but only if you congratulate me properly. _"_

 _Charon chuckled. "_ Deal. _"_

_The vines slowly retreated, but one of them stayed wrapped around Charon's wrist where most of the black plants retreated into. The large amount shouldn't have been able to condense to just that small bracelet, but then again, plants weren't supposed to be able to grow and shrink at will so quickly. He really shouldn't be the judge of plants when it came to a fal'Cie in charge of them._

_"_ Just in case you try something, _" Shu explained when Charon looked at the bracelet of vines skeptically._

 _"_ Where'd you get the plants, anyway? I thought you couldn't make plants out of nothing without your sister. _"_

 _Shu blinked and held their hand up. "_ She gave me these a long time ago, and I've never taken them off. So, in turn, I always have plants to work with. _"_

_Small bioluminescent flowers shimmered into existence, one wrapped around Shu's wrist and the other on their middle finger._

_"_ She…she said that…s-she  _promised_  that she'd always come find me, no matter what happened…a-and I told her that I…I'd do the same. _"_

_Shu sniffled and wiped their tears as quickly as they could. Stupid, getting emotional over the smallest things. They didn't want to keep breaking down every time Charon said something about Rei or Shu's past. Meanwhile, Charon was mentally face-palming. Stop bringing up Rei, you idiot! It never begets a good conversation!_

_Charon put their hand on Shu's. "_ You haven't given up, right? She's out there, somewhere, and I know you won't stop until you've found her. _"_

 _"_ B-But…what if she's not, Chare? She'd have never left me without returning if there wasn't something stopping her. And after all these years…even if someone had taken her hostage, s-she could be…b-be dead by now…! _"_

 _Charon pulled Shu into a hug, putting their head at his chest and letting them cry. "_ You can't think like that, Flower. How about this? As long as you're wearing those flowers, she's waiting for you out there, she's looking for you. You can't give up. You're not going to, and you're not going to fail. _"_

 _"_ But it may not be my choice, Charon. If she's already gone- _"_

 _"_ And if she's not? If she's been waiting for you for all these years and still believes that you won't ever give up, but you do? If there's even a slight chance that she's still out there, you  _cannot_  break this promise. Ever. And now I'm here to help you too. I'm going to help you find her, and that'll be my vow in return for this lovely bracelet, okay? _"_

 _Shu chuckled through their sobs. "_ I don't deserve you… _"_

 _"_ Well you're stuck with me, so get used to it. _"_

_Shu nodded and leaned into the hug further. Charon looked down at the black vines around his wrist with a small apology. '_ **I'm so sorry.** _'_

_The scene switched to Charon pacing in the meeting room where he always met Styx. He finally stopped in front of the wall and kicked it, though he held back his power so he didn't bring the thing down. He rested his head against the wall between his hands and let out a heavy sigh of defeat. He looked on the verge of crying, but took deep breaths to barely manage to keep it down._

_He turned around and slid his back down to sit, burying his face in his palms. He opened his eyes and looked at his wrist, willing the black-vined bracelet to appear. Now his tears built to the point where he wasn't going to be able to stop them as he tore the plants off and chucked them away blindly._

_He wiped his tears away angrily and sniffled, before he heard a loud clicking of a lock and rushed to sit in the seat at the table, composing himself as best he could before Styx was brought in._

_"_ Hyacinthaja! _" Styx called as he walked away at the end of the meeting._

_She wanted to make him guilty, wanted to make him stop his stupid crusade. She wasn't worth it anymore, her little life wasn't worth his amazing and joyful one that he was giving away out of fear for her safety. But he wouldn't listen. He was always stubborn like that._

_She stomped in frustration, but he was gone._

_"_ Ow… _" A little voice whined._

_Styx looked down and saw a little black streak at her feet. Upon closer investigation, she realized it was a little black plant, a vine perhaps. Styx fell to her knees, pretending to be defeated at her brother's exit, and slipped the vine behind her ear, hidden within her hair._

_Many humans had been replaced as her guards over the years, and so this new man didn't know any better and merely grabbed her arm roughly and dragged her away, back to her cell. Once she was thrown in, she waited until the halls were emptied and the ones that routinely checked on her merely saw her lying still, as always._

_She pulled the small vine out and held it in her palm. She didn't have a lot of energy, but she gave it all she could._

_"_ Are you okay? _" Styx whispered._

 _"_ Master left me… _" The baby plant said._

 _Luckily, Styx still knew how to understand plants. "_ Master? You mean Cinthy? _"_

 _"_ Chare-Bear, _" It corrected. "_ He's Susu's Chare-Bear. _"_

 _Styx chuckled and would've cried in the relief and absurdity she was feeling. But she'd run out of tears a long time ago. "_ Shu…you were made by Shu and given to Cinthy… _"_

 _"_ Poisonous plants made from your power! _" It recited._

 _"_ Made from Cinthy's power… _"_

_Styx got a stupid idea, but she wasn't afraid of idiotic plans anymore. She knew what she had to do._

_"_ Listen, I need your help, little one. I need you to use your poison on me. _"_

 _If the little plant could gasp, Styx imagined it would've. "_ What? B-But I've never killed anyone before…I don't even know how it works…I was just  _made_  this way. _"_

 _"_ You can do it, I know you can. Please. If you can kill me…if you can kill me, Cinth…'Chare-Bear'…will be free. He can go back and help Shu. _"_

 _"_ H-He can…? _"_

 _"_ Yes. I know it's a lot to ask, but…I want to stop my brother from hurting himself anymore. _"_

 _"_ Then do it! _" The plant exclaimed. "_ All you have to do is eat me. _"_

 _"_ E-Eat? _"_

 _"_ I can release the poison and I'll die before you even take a bite, but you won't have long before the poison dissipates into the air. _"_

 _"_ You'd…you'd do that? _"_

 _"_ To help Chare-Bear and Susu. You're willing to die for them, so why can't I be? _"_

 _Styx nodded. "_ Then…let's save them together. _"_

 _The plant started releasing a dark smoke and Styx took a deep breath, sending out a silent prayer to her brother, even though he'd probably never hear her. "_ I'm sorry, Cinthy. Be happy. _"_

_And she ate the poisonous plant in one bite._

_"No!" Charon wanted to stop her, do anything, but the memory of the past faded away._

_"I killed her," Shu snapped. "You took my sister, so I took yours."_

_Charon's gaze went to theirs angrily. "You weren't responsible for that. You never gave me that plant in the hopes that it would somehow make it to her. It was just a coincidence!"_

_"Or maybe it wasn't. I have constant communication with any plant I make. All you had to do was come into contact with your sister once and the vines would've released a small part of them for her to find and you'd have been none the wiser. If she didn't find it on her own, it would've gone after her anyway by any means necessary. Face it. I was heartbroken, I was angry, and I would've barely had to lift a finger to convince that girl to kill herself all in the name of love. And now that you're free from Barthandelus's contract, you're under mine. I will make you suffer, Mataecharonsan. You should've taken my offer to kill yourself when you had the chance."_

_The image of Shu flickered to be replaced by Rei again. "I will make you suffer, Mataecharonsan. You should've taken the offer to kill yourself when you had the chance," She repeated. "The day you killed me is the day you sealed your fate."_

_The image flickered back to Shu, but now their nose was beginning to bleed as well as their face darkened. "The day you killed her is the day you sealed your fate," Shu repeated, smiling with a sadistic intent that Charon had never imagined was possible on the innocent nature fal'Cie._

_The two fal'Cie flickered back and forth, spitting threats and insults and Charon's hand was still shaking as the two of them began to decay, dying because of him. He wanted to run, he wanted to cry, he wanted to break down and scream, but nothing was working. He could only sit and watch as the two of them twisted his feelings around, scared him, tore him apart, and reveled in it._

* * *

"Charon!"

He snapped awake and backed away frantically. He could move. He could breathe. He could feel his limbs again. He looked at his hand, still shaking and trembling and out of his control.

"Chare, it's okay," Shu assured him. "It was just a nightmare."

Charon stood and backed away. He hated feelings, he hated dreams, he hated nightmares, he hated being the way he was. Why did he have to have feelings? Why did he have to be so confused? Why couldn't he just be a normal, uncaring, boring fal'Cie given a simple task and following through with it after all these years with no human problems?

Why did emotions hurt so much? Why couldn't he just try and enjoy the fact that Shu was willing to forgive him and he still had a chance to pick up the broken pieces of his life? He had a chance to fix all of his stupid mistakes, but he had to go and ruin that too.

"I…I need some fresh air!" He snapped and walked out of the shelter that Shu had made for them.

" ** _I will make you suffer._** "

He saw a glowing blue silhouette and he knew it was her. Charon started running before he realized what was happening, sprinting away from the voice and Shu and his painful feelings.

Something was wrong with him, and he wanted it to just stop. He wanted to be unfeeling. He wanted to just fix this, but he didn't know how.

He wanted to be normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you didn't realize it, Cactuar Crush is my version of a Final Fantasy XIII Candy Crush game. I'm so smart, aren't I?
> 
> I like fluffy stuff, I like torturing my characters with fluffy stuff.


	33. A Week of Searching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "If you have even the slightest chance of getting your happy ending, then dammit, we aren't going to stop until you're married and riding off into the sunset with a rainbow and the words 'Happily Ever After' floating above you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so, my computer broke down literally three days into summer break, my muse kinda just ran away after finals in school and started writing like crazy for another story, and then my book for my Heroes of Olympus story got wrecked so I lost interest in that story, and so I've kinda been living in the land of Google Docs for the past few months. Now, school is kicking my ass and it's barely begun. I probably have my busiest year ahead of me and won't get as much time to write.
> 
> But I'm back! And I'll try to continue as best I can. I've been crazy and spreading myself thin over all my stories, but rest assured I have no intention of giving up on any of them.
> 
> Ah, making my characters suffer and blame themselves for everything. Aren't I a great author? :) Love you OCs!
> 
> Let's be honest though, this is happening everywhere. How else are we writers supposed to make conflict? Well, throw in an enemy or two…but that's not as interesting as inner conflict!
> 
> And pep talks too! One of the most criticized parts of FFXIII is the fact that people have to give motivational speeches over and over again, but in all honesty, this is not the only place that it happens, people. In real life, when someone's feeling down or in a hard situation, one boost of confidence can tend to wear off when faced with the crushing weight of reality, so when you are a l'Cie tangled up in some serious B.S., the motivation is welcomed.
> 
> Plus, I'm writing these chapters while I really should be going to sleep, so…repetitive stuff happens because I forget things that I literally just wrote and emphasize the point again and again. I apologize.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> :)

"Where's Charon?" Sai asked.

It was already noon and the others were up, trying to get organized, but Shu had been watching the entrance to the shelter, saying the Charon had gone hunting.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm not waiting for Charon any longer," Fang announced. "I want some food, and I'm all in for a good hunt. Anyone wanna join me?"

"We might as well go get used to the wildlife here," Lightning agreed. "I'll go."

"Me too!" Vanille piped up.

"I…I can look for some plants with fruit," Shu offered.

"I'll come too," Sai jumped in.

"We should get started on our search for some civilization," Sazh pointed out. "We don't exactly have an eternity to waste settling in."

"Meet up as soon as possible and we can start planning," Snow decided. "All right. Let's go find something to beat up!"

Shu nodded and walked out with Sai as the others made more plans.

"Did something happen?" Sai asked. "You and Charon seemed…I don't know,  _better_ , earlier. Sure, Charon was as passive-aggressive as he always was, but you seemed to be getting better and then…"

"I don't know, really."

Shu explained what they knew happened about the night before. Shu wasn't sure if they were doing a good job of recounting everything, as they were getting lost in their own thoughts along the way.

Charon had laughed. It was such a nice and warm laugh that Shu never wanted to forget. Shu was worried that they'd never hear that sound again, but they loved it whenever Charon was happy enough to let his guard down enough to just burst out into a cackle. Shu had thought things would get better, that all of their stupid mistakes had been put out into the open and now the weight had been lifted and they could recover. Shu had hoped so badly that it was the case. But that next morning, everything inside them had been crushed once again when they had seen the look in his eyes.

"And after we went to sleep, the next thing I knew, he looked like someone was strangling him in his sleep. I was so worried about him, and when he finally snapped awake…he looked so mentally drained and scared, and it was like all the progress we'd made was…gone. Like it hadn't even happened. More than that, it was like he'd just gotten worse."

"Must've had a nightmare about you hating him or his own insecurities about messing up again. I mean, think about it. He's been unable to avoid hurting anyone he cares for. There's gotta be some trauma that's haunting him."

Shu looked down. "Yesterday…he told me that when he looked at me he couldn't stop seeing the moment he killed Rei…I told him that I know he's the victim, but he blames himself for letting himself be oppressed and making all those mistakes."

Sai looked down as they walked. "Look, I may not be his biggest fan, but the guy doesn't deserve to be blaming himself for events that were out of his control."

"But he says that if he had just said 'No,' maybe this could've all been avoided. His one life over all of ours. To him, it would've been best if he'd just resisted years ago and died."

"Barthandelus could've easily ruined our lives without him. He was just the middle man, but I'm sure something would've gone wrong even if he'd done the right thing. He wants to change now, right? Make up for what he did and make amends. We can't change the past, but we  _can_  control our future."

"We should tell  _him_  that."

"Yeah, we should."

"But I just hope he hasn't run away forever."

"He'll be back," Sai said, though he didn't sound so sure. "He wouldn't leave you…o-or even me without making up for what he did. He needs some kind of closure, and…and we'll get him back, Shu."

Shu looked up at Sai and saw the conflicting look in his eyes. "Why would you…why would you want to help him? He killed Rei. You loved her, didn't you?"

He looked down. "More than I realized, yeah. I should've…I wish I could've done more with her. She would've done such amazing things. If we'd never messed up - if  _I'd_  never messed up - we could've stayed out of all this, and she…she'd still be alive."

"I guess all of us have mistakes we regret. But…if things had been different, we'd have never met. You may have brought her into danger, but she was always in danger. If things hadn't happened the way they did…I still would've been worrying that she was already gone. I'd have never known what happened to her. And I'd have never known that someone had helped her so much."

Sai rubbed the back of his head. "I helped a scared girl I found in the forest that was attacked by a wolf. I gave someone that needed help my assistance. And it wasn't as though she was at fault for being what she was, lost in a world she didn't understand and was terrified of."

"You must've been a good boyfriend."

Sai didn't say anything, but cleared his throat and started walking faster. "Are we almost there?"

Shu hurried to match his pace and tried to meet his eyes. "Sai? You  _were_  her boyfriend, right?"

"There was a lot going on," He said quickly.

Shu stopped. "Oh my gods, you  _weren't?!_  Had you even kissed before?!"

Sai stopped and turned as confidently as he could. " _That_  is none of your business."

Shu gasped. "You hadn't even kissed her yet?!"

"We'd met like, a couple weeks before the Purge! I was going slowly because she must've been overwhelmed by all the things happening around her! She just woke up in an enemy land where everyone should be trying to kill her, and suddenly this stranger comes up and offers help?! I figured out she was a Pulsian fal'Cie and still accepted her, and I didn't want to make things seem like I was just using her to get myself a better title for finding and gaining her trust or something! Not to mention when the Vestige was found there was a major lockdown to hunt for any more Pulsian things and the entire town of Bodhum was Purged!"

"Hey, I got Charon to kiss me within a couple weeks of meeting," Shu shrugged. "But I suppose things must've been hard for her, waking up all alone on Cocoon."

"She was really worried about you, you know. She was constantly burdened by the idea that she had left you to fend for yourself without you ever knowing what happened."

Shu's eyes fell to the ground before moving back to Sai. "It's been kinda scary, sure, but…I don't know. My feelings just seemed blurred during the time after I escaped Barthandelus after searching for Rei."

"Blurred as in…gone?"

Shu thought about it, but shook their head. "No, more like…just numbed. I don't remember really  _wanting_ to make memories of the days surviving without her. The searching became so routine that I didn't really think about it anymore. Then, I found the Cavalry, and suddenly things became brighter. I maybe had some hope, and…then I met Charon, and I was so happy - I'd found something to love and cherish again."

He gave a small smile. "The world brightened and suddenly everything looked different?"

"Yup."

Sai smiled, before frowning. "You kissed within  _how long?_ "

"A couple of weeks. I'm not sure how Cocoon weeks work, but I think that's around the ballpark."

Sai smiled and shook his head. "Well, I can't say that's surprising. So, who made the first move?"

"Him. We were on a ship on our first mission/date together and-"

"Your  _first_  date?"

"We'd been friends for a while before it."

Sai ruffled Shu's hair, who instantly worked to fix it. "I'm not judging you. You two were meant for each other, I can see it in your eyes. If all I saw between you was lust, I'd be skeptical, but your love is…softer than that - not just a quick fling. You two are loving and comforting, and you don't want to hurt each other. You'd be willing to wait an eternity if it meant you'd be able to fix things, help and make things right again."

Shu gave a weak smile. "Yeah, I would. And I know he would too. But he's afraid of messing up everything. He's been heartbroken too many times, and he blames himself for it all."

"You are the only one who can save him from himself. We'll find him, Shu. And you're going to bring him back, pick up those broken pieces and help him believe in both himself and his future."

Shu chuckled. "You almost make it sound like it's your own relationship on the line."

"I…I know I couldn't save your sister. None of us could. But we all have a duty to make her proud, right? If I know her, I know that she'd want us to be happy without her. And I know that she'd want me to look after you. If you have even the slightest chance of getting your happy ending, then dammit, we aren't going to stop until you're married and riding off into the sunset with a rainbow and the words 'Happily Ever After' floating above you."

Shu giggled. "That sounds stupid. But cute. Where'd you get that idea?"

"It's a classic way of closing out the happy end of old fairy tales. Our tale might have cut off prematurely, but yours doesn't have to."

"You know, yours may not be over just yet. Rei's a Phoenix, you know. A bird known to be reborn from its ashes - or so she always told me. And if Charon's right, if she's a fal'Cie of life…"

"I'd love to believe that, Shu, I really do. I just don't wanna get my hopes up."

Shu gave a small nod. "Right."

"But that doesn't mean  _you_  shouldn't," He hastily added.

It was easy to forget sometimes that he wasn't the only one who lost Rei. With Shu wrapped up in their issues with Charon, their pain of losing Rei had nearly vanished.

"It's okay, Sai. You have a point. Getting your hopes up only leads to disappointment. If she comes back, she comes back and it's all the more exciting, but if she doesn't, then there's nothing to lose."

"Hey, you are the most hopeful person I know. It's up to you to believe when things look bleak, to smile when everyone else is feeling sad. Vanille can't do it all on her own, you know. You have to be the light for Charon, for me, for the other l'Cie, and you should smile because your sister wouldn't like it if you were sad. So perk up, all right? All of us are counting on you."

Shu smiled. "Right."

* * *

Shu picked out some plants and put them in a basket woven of grass. It was nice to be back on Pulse again with their wild plants. Sai was over climbing a tree to chop down some fruit with his sword, while the tree was saying things like ' _Watch where you're swinging that thing, buster!_ ' and ' _Hey! I'm a living creature, you meanie! I'm only letting you climb me because Susu likes you!_ "

"Careful, Sai!" Shu called.

"Sorry!" He shouted. "I'm not really a tree-climber. Am I hurting it?"

"Sorta. I can heal him, but it's kinda annoying to have someone climbing all over you."

He chuckled. "That can seriously be taken out of context."

Shu smiled and went back to their task before they started seeing small speckles of blue dust floating around their plants. "Rei?"

They looked around and saw that the particles were flying in a specific direction. Shu sprinted after them, running through a crack in one of the large wall of rock. They slipped through, running through to what looked to be a spring with a pond and a little waterfall. A river led the water away out another tunnel in the rocks, but Shu was more distracted by the glowing blue person being formed.

"Sister! Rei!"

The person finally formed, and she turned to reveal a smiling Rei. " _Shu._ "

Her voice was distorted, but it made Shu want to cry. They thought they'd never hear her voice ever again.

"Rei!"

Shu dived in for a hug, but Rei held her hand out and Shu passed through her. Shu felt their heart clench, wanting to feel her embrace again, tell them that she was still there, that her death that just been a nightmare.

Rei's head tilted at a slight angle as she gave a small smile that she always gave Shu when they were doing something wrong but doing it while looking adorable. " _I'm sorry, my little gem. I'm sorry I left you._ "

"Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault. You didn't leave me."

She shook her head. " _I did, Shu. I spent my entire life spoiling you, because I couldn't ever resist your cute smile._ "

Shu let out a choked chuckle, wiping their tears away and sniffling.

" _I loved you so much, and I wanted you to stay innocent for as long as I could, I wanted to protect you. But all I did was enable you. Now, I left you unprepared for the world. I let you down._ "

Shu shook their head frantically. "No! No, you could never let me down! Sai told me how you…you were thinking of me when you woke on Cocoon, and…and you never forgot about me…!"

She gave a soft smile, moving her ghostly had to Shu's cheek. " _I'd never forget about you._ "

"And I never stopped searching for you! We found each other, in the end! I…I had nearly given up on you, if it wasn't for…"

She gave a small frown. " _Charon?_ "

Shu nodded.

" _Oh, honey. Don't let him get to you, Shu. He has brought you nothing but pain, he wants to hurt others because he has been hurt himself without an outlet. You were the victim of his revenge, but you must be strong._ "

"W-What?"

" _Do not allow him to trick you once more. It is best you never see him again._ "

"B-But…but he needs my help. I can help him!"

" _He is a lost cause. He destroys everything around him, and I do not wish for him to destroy you any further._ "

"He just needs someone to believe in him, he needs a fresh start! He can make things right."

" _Can he ever put our family back together? Can he ever undo the pain he has caused us? You have gone through too much, felt too much sorrow, lost too much because you have given everything to him. He cannot be fixed, Shu, and I don't want you to wear yourself away. You have such a kind heart, my dear, but if you throw your life away for him, I would never forgive myself for leaving you alone, so desperate for a purpose in life that you destroy yourself in the process._ "

"Rei…"

" _I'm sorry, my sibling. I don't mean to dash your hopes. I merely wish for you to be happy, and not to devote yourself to the man who has caused you only harm._ "

"He gave me hope when I had nearly given up that you were alive. I…he saved me, Rei. I owe him so much. At the very least, I have to give him a chance."

Her head fell. " _I will trust you, Shu. But don't worry. I shall be with you soon._ "

"What? I-I mean…wait, h-how are you even here? How can I even know it's you?"

She smiled. " _You doubt me?_ "

"W-Well…"

She shook her head. " _It's okay. Doubting means you're growing up. You must learn to question things, to think for yourself. I'm proud._ "

Shu closed their eyes and wiped their tears. "Rei…Rei I wish you were here. I wish I could feel you, I could hug you. I wish this was all just a nightmare!"

" _Shh, little one. I will always be there for you. And we shall be together again, soon enough._ "

"Rei?"

Shu looked up, but she had disappeared, her particles of blue scattered in the air like pollen before fading away.

"Wait! Sister! What did you mean?!"

But she was gone, and the landscape remained silent.

* * *

Shu wandered back to the campsite in a daze. Sai was giving them worried looks, and so once they got a few moments alone, Shu explained what had happened.

"She's…coming back?"

"That's what she told me. And…she told me that I should give up on Charon because he had only caused me pain."

"That can't be right. Rei would never do that."

"It's not like she said it so harshly. She was just worried about me. And I guess if she was dead, the last thing she remembers was his betrayal and her killing."

"If that's even Rei at all."

"What do you mean?"

"This could easily be a trap, Shu. We're all shaken by what happened, but you and I would be the easiest targets if a fake Rei were to just show up, pretending to be her ghost. You know your sister better than anyone, and I may not have known her long, but I think I have the right to say that she would support you in whatever made you happy - she wouldn't tell you Charon was malicious. Look at how he's been ever since we've found him. Sure, he tried to kill you, but he's only ever acted out of his own depression."

Shu looked down. Charon had been extremely scarred by all of his previous actions, he wished that he could fix things, yet he didn't know how. Charon couldn't change the past, but he could acknowledge his mistakes and work to be better. Like it or not, Shu had the ability to keep him alive and help him.

"We need to find him," Shu declared. "If this fake Rei has been coming after me to give me doubts about him, what if she's going after him while he's in his delicate state? What if she caused his dream last night? He had been paranoid yesterday when I'd started making progress with him. He just suddenly looked around like he'd heard something that I didn't."

"You said he went in the direction of the Steppe, right?"

"Yes, but the Steppe is enormous."

"Then we'd better get going."

* * *

"An Oretoise breeding ground?  _Really?_ " Sai exclaimed.

"They can't get us from up here," Shu assured him. "And they're pretty docile. You don't provoke them, they probably won't even notice you - including if they're walking around and they accidentally trample over you. Look, those ones over there are the baby ones, those are middle-aged, and those ones are the elders."

"How can you tell? They all look the same to me - enormous."

"Experience."

"Well, does your experience see where Charon is?"

"Hmm…my senses tell me that he passed by here, but he's gone now."

Sai fell back with a heavy sigh, lying down on the grass. "Is it just me or are you sensing Charon  _everywhere?_  It's been days now and we've practically gone to every corner of the Archylte Steppe."

"It's not my fault! Charon seems to have  _run_  everywhere. He never seems to take shelter anywhere for very long, maybe because of the monsters, maybe because he's being chased by phantom-Rei."

Sai grunted as he sat up again. "So, where'd he go to next?"

Shu looked around, humming in thought with their signature thinking face, as Sai had dubbed it. Shu really did look adorable, like a kitten - you couldn't help but love to stare at them and want to squeeze them like a stuffed animal. It didn't help that Shu was as animated as a cartoon character, overdramatizing most of their actions purposefully or just naturally.

Case in point, Shu suddenly jumped to life and pointed off into the distance. "That way!"

Shu led Sai down the tall rock structures of the Oretoise sanctuary and then across the plains. They ran into monsters here and there, but most of the time there weren't any creatures in sight. The location they were going to was visible from the place they had been up at in the center of the Oretoise valley, but there had been a - *cough, cough* - valley in the way with a Tortoise standing there, so they had to go around.

Once they started climbing up the steep hill to where they had seen, they fought off a group of Gorgonopsids with a Megistotherian and looked around.

"Um, Sai?"

"Yes?"

"Is it just me, or is it getting a little foggy?" Shu squeaked.

"If by foggy you mean I can barely see five feet in front of me, then yes, yes it is."

Shu whined, "I don't like being blind~! It's scary~!"

Sai put his hand on their shoulder. "You can sense where Charon's gone still, right? And you've got the grass to guide you. Just keep calm, Shu, and everything will be all right."

Shu took a deep breath and nodded. "Right, so let's find that fal'Cie."

* * *

Charon was running.

He couldn't see very far ahead of him, and too late did he realize that it was because he was in a foggy area of the Northern Highplain. This was a place filled with Behemoth Kings, Megistotherians, and Gorgonopsids in large packs. There were countless bloodthirsty monsters hidden in the haze.

But Charon didn't care much about them as he sprinted forward. He could still hear her whispering, he could still feel her blood on his hands and could hear her whispering her last words: ' _I'm sorry_ ' and then ' _I will make you suffer_.' He felt overwhelming guilt, both to Rei and to Shu. He remembered them crying when he saw their sister perish. ' _All that can exist between us is sorrow with a poisonous relationship._ '

"Stop it, stop it, stop it!"

The voices wouldn't stop, his feelings wouldn't stop.

"Make it  _stop!_ "

"Charon?!"

No, not Shu too. He couldn't handle both Shu and Rei at the same time.

Charon ran faster, if that was possible. He had his Wakizashi drawn, slashing at any monster he was going too fast to go around. It was only when he suddenly found himself falling that he realized that he'd run off the edge of a cliff. He turned and stabbed his sword into the cliffside with all the strength he could muster, falling a good ten feet before he finally came to a stop. He'd reached the end of the Steppe. He had miscalculated and missed the exit to Atomos's caves.

Charon looked back up the cliff. He could make it if he used his Kozuka. He pulled one out and jammed it into the rock, pulling himself up before stabbing another in. He finally made it high enough to stand on his sword, taking a break. He hadn't done anything but run for the past few days. Even his stamina was wearing away. His emotions were even more draining than the physical strain. He could barely hold himself together, and running was the only thing he was sure about. It was the only thing that distracted him from the pain.

"Charon!"

He looked up and saw Shu above him. They looked real, more real than an illusion anyway, but they were still shrouded in the mist they were surrounded with.

"Charon, are you okay?!"

"I…" His voice was raspy from doing nothing but being silent or screaming for the past week. "I don't…I don't know."

Shu reached down. "Come on. Can you fly?"

He shook his head. He was too tired. He'd tried flying for the first few days, but he wasn't an airborne fal'Cie. It hadn't done anything to help him in his flight.

"Don't worry, we're here for you. Can you reach my hand?"

Charon looked up hesitantly. Shu was leaning over the edge of the cliff, reaching their arm a couple feet down. Charon was six feet tall standing on his weapon, and he could reach up about another three feet if he stood as tall as he could.

He moved his hand up before pulling it back hesitantly.

"Chare?"

Charon grabbed his Kozuka and then pulled his Wakizashi from the rock it was buried in. He sheathed the weapon and then used his knives to climb higher on his own. When he felt Shu pulling him up by his jacket, he knew that they were real, at least.

He also knew Shu was real when they crushed Charon in a hug. "I was so worried about you! Don't run away from me like that! Have you even been eating? You need water, you're like a dehydrated plant!"

"I-" He began, but was interrupted by a suffocating kiss.

"I love you! I don't know when I last said it but I love you so please don't leave me like that! I thought we were okay, you doofus! You should've come to me and talked! If I'd known what was happening I would've never let you go that morning! I need you, Chare! And you need me, so please don't go running off when you're going through something!"

"I-I…how did you-?"

Shu gave a snarky remark, "You're not hard to track when we have a bond. You were just running around so fast that it was hard for me and Sai to keep up. I could practically sense your presence  _everywhere_  and it was hard to track down a trail." Shu wrapped their arms around Charon's waist and rested their head on his shoulder. "I was so scared something had happened to you. I saw the Rei ghost and how angry she seemed at you and I knew she was going to be really bad to you. Considering how fast you were running, I thought was a she was on a murder spree."

"Wait, you saw her too?"

Shu nodded. "She told me she was coming back and was spouting nonsense. I thought it was her at first, but she told me to leave you behind and I knew Rei would never say that to me, no matter how angry she was. She would show mercy to anything I told her to, even if she was pissed off beyond all limits."

Charon chuckled. "I can see that. She loved you so much."

"But she wouldn't go trying to kill."

He shook his head. "How do you  _know_ , Shu? Out of everything anyone has ever done to you, has anyone ever taken away the only family you have? Because as far as I'm aware,  _I'm_  the only one that's done that!"

Charon's voice cracked. He couldn't help it.

Shu gripped Charon tighter. "Shut up, you idiot. You made a mistake, you were just the guy caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. If you're sorry about what you did, then you can't just leave me and take away the  _rest_  of the family I love."

"I'm…family?"

"Of course you are!"

" _There you are._ "

Shu jumped behind Charon with a small shriek as blue particles in the air began to form the shape of a person.

" _Get away from them, you monster. I won't let you hurt them again! That's all you ever do: hurt my family, hurt the ones you love!_ "

"Charon…"

She held her hand out. " _Come, Shu. We will be a family once more._ "

"Charon, make her go away," Shu whispered.

He felt them grip his arm and felt a sudden surge of protectiveness. He gritted his teeth and held up his Wakizashi. "Leave us alone."

" _Brave now, are we? Lying and deceiving, thinking that you can somehow protect Shu when you couldn't even protect your sister!_ "

Charon flinched.

"Rei, shut up!"

Sai came flying out of the haze, moving to strike through the glowing silhouette of the fal'Cie. His blades sliced without being impeded, but she wasn't solid in any way, so he and his weapons soared clean through her.

" _Ah, Sai. It's good to see you again._ " She actually seemed relieved in some way, her expression softening and her tone gentle. " _I hope you're doing well. It's not your fault, don't you dare go blaming yourself for what happened. You kept my blades, I see._ "

She nodded her head to his belt where he had her two swords clipped on. He took a defensive stance. "These aren't  _yours_."

She cocked her head to the side. " _Aren't they?_ "

"You are  _not_  Rei," He declared defiantly.

She frowned. She looked genuinely disappointed. " _I'm sorry you feel that way._ "

She waved her hand as though she was giving a backhand slap and though she never made physical contact with Sai, he was blasted back with enough force to knock him off his feet and then some.

"Sai!" Shu shouted.

" _Now give me my sibling,_ " Phantom-Rei demanded.

"Charon, use your Zanmato or something!" Shu hissed.

He couldn't. He couldn't even get the blade out of the sheath even if he wanted to. Zanmato was a special blade, and when it didn't accept its wielder there was little to be done. Charon's trauma and his actions killing Rei were probably what made it deny him, but he couldn't do anything about that.

"Charon,  _please!_ " Shu begged, shaking his shoulder. "She's not real, but your Zanmato may be the only thing that can even hit her!"

He grunted in frustration and put his hand to his Zanmato blade, but as he pulled, it refused to come free from its sheath.

Rei reached out and took Charon by the throat, her phantom hand phasing through his solid body but still causing him pain from the inside out. " _Stay out of my way, you lying monster._ "

"Charon!" Shu exclaimed.

Fal'Cie didn't need to breathe, even in human form, nor did they need to eat or sleep, but Charon suddenly felt what it meant to suffocate. He felt pain surge through his throat and cut off his brain from the rest of his body. He couldn't feel his limbs and felt his essence burning away.

"Charon?! Can you hear me?!  _Charon!_ "

' ** _Do not leave Shu alone again. Do not leave them alone again. Do not leave them alone!_** '

Charon grabbed the handle of his Zanmato and tugged as hard as he could - which took a lot more effort that he'd normally require since he could barely move at all. He could only just feel when his hand made it to the hilt of the blade.

' ** _Do not leave them alone. Do not leave them alone. Do not leave them alone!_** '

His fingers wrapped around Zanmato's handle. He pulled at the handle, but he couldn't free the blade normally, let alone when he could barely feel his muscles.

' ** _Do_ not _leave Shu alone!_** '

He tugged harder, gaining more control of his arm with adrenaline coursing through his system. "I will  _not_ …leave Shu…alone!"

He ripped his weapon from its sheath and sliced it upwards at the being in front of him. In an arc of white, his blade slashed through the silhouette and crackled with energy as she disappeared.

Charon fell to the ground, breathing hard, his sword shimmering with energy beside him. He'd never seen it glow with such color, a mix of purples, reds, and oranges shimmering at the hilt of the blade with symbols that he couldn't read - probably a language beyond even the fal'Cie, a language of the gods.

He felt himself pulled into a hug and had no energy to neither resist nor reciprocate.

"You did it, Chare! You did it."

He nodded blankly.

"Come on, let's go join the others. They're worried about you."

Shu grabbed the Zanmato blade and slipped it back into Charon's sheath. Shu went over to help Sai up (who was apparently a bit bruised, but there didn't seem to be any real serious damage) and then returned to throw one of Charon's arms over their shoulder and haul him to his feet.

He didn't say a word as they began to travel back to the campsite of the other l'Cie.

"Shu?" Charon asked, his voice so light that he questioned if he'd even spoken aloud.

"Yeah?"

"Am I really…family?"

Shu scoffed. "Of course you are, you big lug. You're the only family I have left. Well…I guess Sai's in there too. And the other l'Cie aren't bad company either-"

"But  _how_ _?_   _How_  can you forgive me…?"

He was too weary to be embarrassed as his voice broke and tears fell from his eyes.

"Silly," Shu said gently, gripping Charon tightly. "I forgive you because I know who you are. You lied to me, you hid things from me, but in the end, I can sense you weren't lying about  _everything_. Now that I know the truth, I know what I'm getting into. And I'm still not backing down. You've made mistakes, Charon, but not many were your fault. You've been pushed and pulled by the people around you for centuries now, you've held false hope because it's the only thing that's been able to keep you going. Yet through all of that, you've still got a good heart, I know it. Now, you're trying to pick up the pieces of your broken heart, and I'm gonna be there every step of the way."

Charon felt a weak smile tugging at his lips. "You're too good for me."

"Maybe you just don't know how much you're worth. But I do. We've been through too much to let this get to us, Chare. You've been hurt too many times. I won't let that happen anymore. Never."

"What did you see in me? Back when we first met?"

"Hmm…well, first of all, you were the cutest guy around."

Charon chuckled.

"Secondly, you were strong, all big and tough, but you were also nice. You smiled and got along with people, and you were just trying to be yourself."

"That was a lie though."

"No, it wasn't, not completely. You were sad on the inside, I know that now, but I think I already knew, in some capacity. I guess I could sense it, but I didn't want to pry. You would tell me when you were ready, and if you never were, I'd respect your decision until I believed that you were being pushed too hard."

Charon's head dropped. "I didn't want to burden you - worse, drag you into my situation. If Barthandelus ever found out that I'd told you…I don't know what he would've done, but I knew that I didn't want to let him hurt you like he's hurt me for so long."

Shu chuckled lightly. "See? You're still good at heart.  _That's_  why I forgive you, that's why I still love you."

Charon scoffed, leaning against Shu. "I still don't really understand, but…thank you."

"Always, Charon. Always."

* * *

"I am unimpressed, Hotareichan. Your methods are lackluster and have failed."

"Worry not, my lord. Look at how easily broken you've left the poor boy. All it took was a little persuasion and he was left on the breaking point. They are fragile. It is always cruelest to take one's happiness away when they feel they are safe, when they feel the storm is behind them. All I did was scare them this time. It was never meant to be convincing. It is the fact that they remain wary and unsure that is the real punishment."

"You have given away the element of surprise. They will be aware of your arrival."

"Maybe so, but that is the whole point. They can tremble at an  _unseen_  enemy, but they cower at a  _known_ one. They want desperately to believe that there is a good heart within the caged body. Pull the strings correctly, and they will know despair beyond measure. To know everything you love stands before you, corrupted and beyond salvation, with just the tiniest string of hope to cling to. When Mataecharonsan gains hope, a love to fight for once more, how far would he go to save his beloved's sister? Give him a taste of freedom, and you will find his nature unwilling to let his love go once more."

"I see. We shall string both fal'Cie as puppets once more."

"Yet this plan must be laid carefully, your Eminence. The key to playing with hope is you must allow them to find it themselves. To spell it out for them would beget distrust. Make them believe they are thinking outside of the box, not simply looking at the situation as black and white. I have a plan that is sure to work should you follow my instructions."

"I take no orders from you, child."

"You can take orders from me if you wish or deny me. That is your decision. However, I am the one with knowledge of these fal'Cie, who understands emotions and how to spur your reluctant soldiers onwards. The l'Cie will not return to destroy their home, not without proper motivation. And I will not be enough should you attempt to create the ultimate Ragnarok that will not fail as she did many centuries ago - you require the remaining two fal'Cie. So, my king…" She looked up to meet her master's eyes, not a hint of fear or reluctance in her stony gaze. "Shall I enlighten you, or would you prefer to see all your plans crumble?"


	34. You're Not Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chick flew onto Vanille's head, and while she smiled at the gesture that she assumed was friendly and being playful. The bird hopped down to the mat that Vanille and Fang were sitting on, jumping between them in an attempt to make them understand, spinning, flapping her wings, and trying to squeak out her message.
> 
> The chick flew over to Shu, who held their hand up with a surprised face, blinking as the bird chirped at them. "His brand?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I thought that it was a great idea to be a part of a play and then I became a props assistant and stagehand with even less time to write than before. Add on top of that the novels that I'm reading for English, plus Calculus, Physics, and History, I'ma bitta busy.
> 
> (Hi, I'm writing from the future after I wrote that last paragraph. My play is done and I'm now tired out from a fundraiser event that requires dancing. All we did is the dress rehearsal today and I am pooped. So I chose to relax by finally moving on with this story! :P)
> 
> Sorry for the long wait for each story, but really, I've been working hard to crank out this chapter and next up I've gotta get to my HoO story, and after that my Shadowhunters story (stories) and whooo!
> 
> I've probably lost all my readers at this point…
> 
> But I'm still gonna be posting anyway.
> 
> In all honesty, the only reason that I've been avoiding continuing to write this chapter is because I was too lazy to get out my earbuds so that I could use videos of FF13 to write the story - explain what characters are doing, put emphasis on certain words, you know. I was just like 'I can do it later,' and then later when I have time to do it, I'm like 'I got nothing to do! Wonder why…'
> 
> And that is the story of how I accidentally avoid stories and prove that I have a worse memory than Dory. Or maybe my dog Tidus, who literally forgets that he has a treat right in front of him and walks over to bark at my chihuahua to hand over his treat.
> 
> (He's still a cutie so I forgive him, but really. He's a Shih Tzu. Da cootiest thing in da wald!)
> 
> :)

After explaining everything that had happened to the others, Shu and Charon turned in while it was Snow and Fang's turn to take watch duty and tend to the fire. Shu summoned a small separate housing of plants to act as a hut so that they could be alone together. Charon relaxed into the bed of soft plants staring up at the top of the hut blankly.

"Are you hungry? Or wait… _thirsty?_  You're thirsty, I can tell. Here, we've got little leaf cups!"

Shu held out a cup proudly, filled with water since their plants could act as servants while they were in the hut surrounded by them. Charon sat up slowly, giving in to his urge to simply relax quietly, and took the cup, sipping the water. As it touched his tongue and flowed through his mouth, he realized just how thirsty he was. Fal'Cie weren't supposed to get thirsty, he thought to himself. But he was. And he downed the entire cup before he realized what he was doing.

"I got it from this nice spring nearby, with these waterfalls, and chocobos! Wild chocobos still roaming Gran Pulse! Isn't it  _amazing?_  And the Steppe has changed so much since I was last here."

Charon stared at his cup as the leaf suddenly came to life and shifted, deforming from a stable cup to a wiggling green leaf-worm that disappeared into the plants beneath him. A moment later, it popped back out again, reforming with water filled inside. Charon took the drink once more and continued the process until he was sated. He then stared at the water in the cup.

"The only water on Pulse that I've ever drunk was from my sister's river."

Shu froze as their expression dropped. Charon realized he had said that aloud and regretted it, but there was nothing he could do to take it back.

Charon sighed. "I-I need to know, Shu."

"What? Anything, I'll tell you anything. Shoot."

"That…that fake…phantom Rei…she told me something."

"You know that she was probably lying about a lot of what she told you, probably mixing in circumstantial truths just to make it seem convincing."

Charon nodded. "She told me you killed Styx."

Shu flinched. "Wh… _what?_  I'd  _never_ , Charon! She was like a  _sister_  to me, my best friend! My  _first_  friend, my…my  _only_  friend…"

"I guess…in reality…it was my fault. Remember the bracelet of vines you gave me? The one you adapted to my powers?"

Shu nodded. "You…don't have it anymore…" Shu realized.

"After the incident at the Palamecia, I was taken back to Eden with Styx. When we were finally allowed our scheduled meeting together - one where I was allowed to visit her at the prison she was being held at - we argued about me, what I'd done…"

Shu was silent the entire time as they listened to Charon's story. They didn't say a word, didn't nod or even breathe. If someone didn't know any better, they might've mistaken Shu for a baffled, stunned, and shell-shocked statue.

"S-So…m- _my_  plant, it…"

"It helped her kill herself. She couldn't have gotten any weapons that would hurt her, even in her weakened state, enough to kill her. She'd  _never_  be allowed anywhere close to ingredients for a poison strong enough to kill her as well. You said…in my nightmare…you said that you could contact your plants no matter how far away, that even if I hadn't thrown the bracelet away your plant would've found a way to get to Styx one way or another, without my will or knowledge required."

"M-Maybe if I concentrated  _really_  hard, but…I couldn't control something so tiny from so far away, not unless…"

Charon looked up to Shu. "Unless what?"

"Unless I intended for it to track and protect you if things went wrong. Unless I gave it to you because I always wanted to know you were with me and that I was with you."

"Shu, I just need to know if you…"

"I didn't do it, I didn't even know  _how_  she died when you told me that she did! But it was  _my_  fault! If I hadn't…"

Charon placed his hand on Shu's and pulled them into a light embrace. "Don't start that now, Flower. It's my job to cry and yours to comfort. There are things that we can't take back, there are a million factors that went into our pasts that we can't change. It's depressing, but it's the truth."

Shu nodded, leaning into Charon's hug. Charon closed his eyes and hugged them tighter. It was then that he felt Shu hissed in pain and Charon quickly released them.

"What's wrong?"

Shu's hand moved to their shoulder. Charon's eyes widened as he remembered that he'd cut Shu's shoulder when he had been trying to kill them back in the Ark. He'd also cut their hand, but there was nothing but a scar left behind that was already fading.

"Shu-"

"It's fine, Chare," Shu insisted quickly. "I forgot it was even hurt. I can't even feel it."

Charon raised his hand to reach out and touch their wound before refraining. "I…I hurt you…"

Shu grabbed Charon's raised wrist before he could pull it away. "It's okay, Charon. It's  _okay_."

Charon let out a deep breath, closing his eyes to try and focus on relaxing. He laid back and Shu took the opportunity to snuggle up against him.

"Have you heard her anymore?"

"No. What about you?"

Shu shook their head, their long blonde curls ticking Charon's neck. "I'm not sure that I want to. She's gone, Charon, I know that. I want to accept that she's gone, I don't want to keep giving myself false hope or having her loss cut me open afresh. She's gone, and whatever that Phantom Rei was, she's gone too."

"It worries me, why she appeared in the first place."

"Maybe it was you. Your fears, your insecurities, your pain - maybe your power acted like an Eidolon of sorts, making you face your fears-"

"Or die running from them."

Shu leaned up to kiss Charon, gently but firmly. "It's gonna be all right," Shu whispered, though they didn't sound fully convinced.

Charon missed the perky and upbeat Shu, he missed their smile when it wasn't masking pain beneath the surface, he missed their laughs. He broke everything between them, he broke their relationship that they'd had, and things could never be the same.

"Everything's gonna be fine."

* * *

"I think we've addressed the metaphorical elephants in the room, so now to the solutions."

"What solutions?" Sai asked. "And why am I here again?"

"Because you need to be in on this very important discussion. Charon needs to understand that neither of us are angry at him. Are we?"

Sai looked over at Charon, who was leaning against the wall of plants for the hut in a bundle of greenery, trying to be hidden.

"Of course we're not angry.  _I'm_  not angry. I  _was_ , Charon, don't get me wrong. But I understand your situation now. You're a victim, and you deserve a chance to make things right."

"What if I  _can't?_  Make things right, I mean."

"You'll never know if you don't try. We're all willing to forgive you for what's happened, but only if you're willing to make up for it, or at least put your effort into  _trying_. We've all had better weeks, maybe better centuries for you guys, but we've made it through this together, and we're not gonna leave you alone. You're just like the rest of us, a good person stuck in a shitty situation."

Charon stared at Sai for a long moment before averting his gaze. "I'll work hard, I will. I don't know if it'll ever be enough, but I'll do my best."

"You know something, I know that you're worried about  _us_  forgiving you, but the real problem here is going to be you forgiving yourself."

Charon nodded slowly.

"We're here for you Charon. If you want to try and make it up to us, help us  _stop_  Barthandelus. We won't let him win, we  _can't_."

Charon nodded. "We're gonna stop him. We have to. We  _have_  to make him pay for what he's done. To all of us."

"That's the spirit," Shu said, giving a small smile. "We won't let him have the satisfaction of getting to us anymore."

Charon shifted in his makeshift bed of plants. "So, what's our itinerary? What have I missed?"

* * *

"Good to have you back, Charon."

"Are you doing okay?"

"Where  _were_  you?! We were worried sick!"

"Are you hurt?"

"Why'd you up and leave us like that?"

"I hope you know we aren't angry at you."

Charon was bombarded with encouraging comments from the l'Cie, and he almost had trouble keeping track of it all. Shu went on crowd control to help give him space, which he appreciated, and then explained what happened.

Charon still couldn't help but stare at Shu, acting like nothing was wrong. They were almost comically cheerful, and their very presence made Charon want to relax and believe that Shu was right - things were okay now. It was all okay.

"Now, our biggest problem lies in solving the l'Cie problem," Shu said. "Now, I've done a little research, and it's possible that certain fal'Cie above Anima might be able to remove your brands if they're benevolent enough and connected to Pulse in a big enough way - something that's very hard to find. I've narrowed down the list pretty quickly, and so far…I've got just me and Charon - and neither of us have any idea on how to do this sort of thing."

There was a collective sigh across the group.

"So we've got bust," Fang summarized.

"Not bust completely," Shu jumped in. "I've asked around my plants and they say there's one fal'Cie that's recently emerged in Anima's absence that might have the power we need."

Shu held up a picture drawn from berries, mud, sand, etc., that had been drawn surprisingly well on a leaf. There was an image of an elf-like person with fiery red hair, a sharp jaw, pointy ears, and nose, with a half-scowl, half-smirk that made their attitude hard to discern.

"Who's that?" Vanille asked.

"According to my plants, a unique fal'Cie that they don't quite know the origins of, but he's capable of learning and adapting to his situation and can so far control anything that he wants. They say that if anything can help you guys, it's him."

"Okay, so now the question is, where do we find him?" Lightning asked.

"He moves a lot, and he's got a couple friends with him too, but his last known location was near Taejin's Tower."

"That's a ways away," Charon muttered. "Past the plains, Atomos's tunnel system - if it's even still standing and traversable - and past the springs. What if this guy is a dead end and doesn't want to help?"

"He's so far been shown as a good guy. As long as we're good people, he'll be open to bargaining at the least. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"What about Yaschas Massif?" Hope asked. "That's what this place is called, right?"

"The mountain range over that way, yes," Shu nodded, pointing down the valley they were taking shelter beside.

"We'll send a final team out to search the place," Lightning announced.

"I'll go," Snow volunteered.

Sazh stood with a sigh. "Guess I'll join you."

They all nodded and the team gathered their things before setting out. Sazh's chocobo chick decided that it wanted to stay with them at the campsite.

"Let's go get some more water, Chare," Shu announced, tugging Charon up and away.

"Uh…sure," He muttered.

"You wanna go look for some food, Hope?" Sai asked.

Hope nodded, and the chocobo chick squeaked, flying around Hope's head and then Sai's to show that it was coming along too.

Vanille yawned and laid down on one of the mats to take a nap, and Fang sat down with her lance at the ready, taking watch in case of any stray monsters who found it was a great idea to attack their campsite.

* * *

Shu giggled as they pushed Charon under one of the waterfalls in The Font of Namva, feeling a surge of pride as Charon started laughing and declared war, tacking Shu into one of the pools of water.

 _A world wild and fragile, vibrant and untamed. Gran Pulse_.

Sai and Hope climbed over the large tree trunks and branches covering the path as they headed forward to look for some fruit trees, the chocobo chick flying around them as though to say ' _Keep up losers!_ '

 _It's a place where lives are ruled by the brutal struggle for survival, and the callous and uncaring whim of the fal'Cie_.

A pack of Gorgonopsids hunted a chocobo, wandering innocently near a pool of water in the plains. It tried to run with its chocobo speed, but in the end, one Gorgonopsid jumped it and then it was over with one final chocobo cry into the wind.

 _There is no such thing as mercy_ … _only a never-ending string of trials that weed out the weak, and leave only the strong. Rei and Raines, they knew the truth…the purpose lying at the heart of all the fal'Cie's actions_.

The giant fal'Cie Atomos continued digging through the tunnels, following old paths that had been dug and tunneling new ones, destined to continue searching the earth for a purpose lost to time.

' _Recalling their lost deity and returning the world to its former glory.' People were never anything more than sacrifices_.

Above a toppled tower that had once dared to touch the skies, a seemingly innocent fal'Cie flew up and then soared down within the exposed top of the vertical remnants of the structure.

_And Cocoon's destruction? It's just a way to wake a sleeping god. But would bringing the Maker back into this world really lead to our salvation?_

Chocobos ran across the plains of Gran Pulse, fleeing from the path of a large Adamantoise herd (bale?) that casually stomped forward with little care about what crossed their path. Unfortunately, a giant hand descended upon one unlucky Tortoise and scooped it up, roaring in protest. It was dropped within the mouth of Titan, a towering fal'Cie that swallowed the Adamantoise in one fell swoop, an Adamantoise looking back at its lost friend who was gone in an instant.

_The Maker created fal'Cie…and they, in their desperation to be reunited with the Maker, created l'Cie._

Lightning, Sazh, and Snow walked through the crumbling ruins of a city long-since extinguished. They looked around, but there were no signs of people living anywhere near the location. It also seemed to be a dead end, nothing beyond worth going out of their way to search for.

 _And l'Cie? I wonder what we'll end up creating_.

Hope set down a melon and rolled it over to the pile, but it fell short. Sazh's chocobo chick, being the helpful little friend it was, stood on top and ran across to roll the melon into place. Hope smiled and turned back to the tree with more melons at the top. He placed his hand on the trunk to test it before taking a step back, charging forward to hit the tree with his shoulder and then stepped back again to hold his hands out for a falling melon. It came down sooner than expected and he fumbled the fruit before it fell to the ground, just centimeters away from the petrified chocobo chick on the ground.

The melon rolled away from the chick and it breathed a sigh of relief before squeaking at Hope in protest as if to say 'You nearly killed me!' Hope held his hands up in apology before hurrying after the melon and grabbing it and staring up at the sky in thought. How long had they been there? How much longer did they have left?

 _Our future looked bleak, but as long as we could keep our spirits up…we'd find a way to change our fate - somehow_.

Sai climbed up the side of the canyon with one final grunt, taking deep breaths as he sat and looked out at the view of the plains of the Archylte Steppe.

He sighed. "Wow…so this was your home, huh? It's beautiful. I wish you could've shown me around like you said you would."

He got no answer, but he felt the wind pick up as purple flower petals flew past him. Sai took Rei's blades from his belt, staring at the silver and gold blades with the royal-purple ribbons wrapped at the hilts, and planted them in the rock beneath him.

"I'm sorry I never told you. I guess I thought that it didn't need to be said, that I had all the time in the world. Rei, wherever you are, I want you to know that you were the best thing that ever happened to me. This l'Cie thing ruined our lives, but don't think for a second that I blamed you for it, that things might've been better had we never met, had none of this happened. We can't change the past, and I wouldn't dare ask for things to be different for fear that they could be worse instead. Rei…life has been crazy and absurd and scary and I miss you…by the  _gods_  I miss you…but I wouldn't trade what we shared for anything. I may become a Cie'th soon, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. I'm terrified, sure, but if the alternative is destroying Cocoon…I'd take my chances as a Cie'th, hope that someone comes along to kill me so maybe I can see you again. If fal'Cie and humans go to the same place after death, anyway. But you're a special fal'Cie, so who knows?"

He chuckled lightly, realizing he was rambling. Rei had always been so enduring when it came to his rambling - in fact, she even seemed to like it when he went off on a tangent like that. She loved to hear his stories, his voice itself.

"Hotareichan…what I'm trying to say is…I-I love you."

There was something that scared him about saying those words aloud. It was a sign of defeat, that he was accepting that she was gone, and in truth, he didn't want to say goodbye yet. He knew he had to, he knew that having too much hope for her return would lead him to ruin, but that knowledge didn't make things any easier.

He allowed himself to cry, to properly take in that he would probably never see her again, that he was still alive without her there beside him. Loss wasn't something that was easy to put into words. He had been in the army back on Cocoon, and though he wasn't exactly on the front lines of a war, he still knew what it was like to lose comrades, having to tell their family, having to cope with the fact that he'd never be able to speak to them again, hear their voice, see them smile, laugh with them, and the world seemed to shift slightly, never to return to the way it was.

Sai had a family that he'd lost when he became a l'Cie, when everything went to hell within just a few days, but he made it through all that because of Rei, then because of all of his new friends. Now, for the first time since that Pulse fal'Cie was discovered, he allowed himself to panic, to break down, and to let everything out.

It made things easier, he admitted. Not easy, but easier. Just a little.

* * *

Vanille stirred from her sleep, sitting up to see Fang sitting above her.

"You were having a dream," Fang informed her.

Vanille nodded in understanding, turning to sit forward and look up at the wreckage of the airship sitting within the canyon they were in. "A pretty strange dream."

Lightning, Snow, and Sazh were the first team to return, with Sazh sighing in relief from their walk being over, raising his hands in greeting.

"Heeeeey!"

Vanille held her hand up cheerfully. "You're back!"

"Hey guys," Fang greeted. "Have any luck?"

"No sign of anyone else," Lightning reported, crossing her arms. "But we  _did_  find plenty of bloodthirsty wildlife and crumbling ruins."

Sazh sat down with a heavy sigh as Vanille patted his shoulder. "Long day?"

"Well guys, we've run out of places to search around here," Snow declared. "What was that plan about some fal'Cie that could help us?"

"Shu and Charon are out at the springs getting water and probably just hanging out still," Fang said. "It'll do them good to have some time off and a little relaxation after all they've been through. We can check in with them on the plan when they get back."

"HEEEEEY! GUYS!"

"Speak of the fal'Cie…" Lightning muttered with a small smirk.

Shu was up on the cliff waving with Charon by their side, who was holding a leaf jug of water and seeming a little warmer, a little happier, from their excursion together. Shu started awkwardly climbing down the cliff before suddenly their plants formed a slide that they fell down with a squeal of delight. Charon hopped down behind them, landing on his feet with the barrel of water in his hands.

"We brought water," He announced.

"And flowers!" Shu added. "Look at this red one! It's so spiky! And red! Charon gave it to me. What did you say they were called?"

"Fire lilies," Charon said. "I'm surprised you don't know, being a plant expert and all."

Shu shrugged. "I guess I just haven't really paid much attention during my past visits. There's so much that I don't remember about Pulse that must've changed right before my eyes and I didn't notice."

Snow looked around and did a mental count. "Where's Hope? Sai?"

Fang jabbed a finger behind her. "They're off with the chocobo, getting supplies." Just as she said that, the little chick came flying past her with a little squeak. "Hello!"

The chocobo chick flew around frantically squeaking, landing in Sazh's waiting hands. "Hey, hey, hey. You all by yourself?"

The chick flew onto Vanille's head, and while she smiled at the gesture that she assumed was friendly and being playful. The bird hopped down to the mat that Vanille and Fang were sitting on, jumping between them in an attempt to make them understand, spinning, flapping her wings, and trying to squeak out her message.

The chick flew over to Shu, who held their hand up with a surprised face, blinking as the bird chirped at them. "His  _brand?_ "

"What?" Sazh exclaimed.

A ripple of panic surged throughout the group. Everyone was on alert, those who were sitting shooting to their feet, those already on their feet turning to run.

"We've gotta find them!" Snow announced unnecessarily, for everyone was already on the same page and were running.

* * *

Sai hopped down from the tree trunk that helped him return to where he'd left Hope.

"Hey, how's it going?" He asked.

Hope held up the melon in his hand with a smile. "All good. Nine, one for everyone. Where've you been?"

"Just tying up a few loose ends. Wanna split the fruit half and half, or should we go more 6 to 3?"

"How about 5 to 4?"

Sai shrugged. "I'm down for that."

They started grabbing the fruit, the chocobo chick squeaking and riding on Hope's pile while the two boys laughed.

"Someone's happy," Hope commented.

"I think we should get her back to Sazh," Sai said. "She seems to be a little hyper without him."

Hope chuckled. "Yeah. Only Vanille could possibly keep up with her."

"Speaking of Vanille…how's that going?"

"How's what going?" Hope asked innocently.

"You and Vanille? Or am I reading all the signs wrong?"

Hope gave a small nervous chuckle. "There's nothing going on. We're just good friends. It's hard  _not_  to want to be friends with her. She's a good addition to the team, she keeps us going when things get tough."

Sai nodded. "Right, right. But  _in theory_ …do you-? Hope, look out!"

Hope was so distracted by the conversation that he didn't register Sai's sudden change in tone as being a warning before he was suddenly struck from behind by a Rakshasa's shuriken. Fruit went flying, Hope hit the ground with a thud as his head struck a rock beside the riverbed, and Sai dropped his load as well to reach for his swords.

He jumped across the river and saw the monster hidden behind the rocks near the waterfall that the small stream originated from. He gripped his weapons and prepared to charge, but suddenly three yellow Flan emerged in a triangle around him.

"Dammit!"

He slashed at the Flan, but they were basically made of goo and didn't take much damage from his swords alone. He tossed Ruin spells while trying to dodge the long-ranged attacks of the creatures, getting slapped surprisingly hard by their gelatinous hands. Sai took out one of the Flan with his spells, moving to throw a Ruinga to toss them both up in the air. The Ruinga had a longer recovery time, and at that moment, one of the Flan picked itself up and then lunged at its partner. The second Flan disappeared in a Merge and then the remaining Flan doubled in height and increased in mass by a factor of 5.

"Oh, you've gotta be  _kidding_  me!" Sai snapped.

Facing this thing all alone was gonna be a pain. He started throwing Ruin spells before then switching to Ravager spells to try and stagger it. That was the only way he was going to win this fight all alone.

Sai was nearly there before a wave of energy pulsed throughout the area and the Dire Flan started to glow with power as it was bestowed with Bravery, Haste, and Shell. Now it had stronger attacks that sent Sai stumbling back, his vision swirling, not to mention that the Dire Flan was now resistant to physical  _and_ magical attacks, and it was faster. Sai had forgotten about the Rakshasa and its Fanatical Dance ability.

Sai was sent back, stumbling, but he used his sword to regain his balance and cast a few Cure spells. His magic wasn't at Hope's level, but it wasn't weak either, so he managed to heal himself up in a few seconds. He jumped back, barely avoiding the long reach of the Dire Flan - now increased to double the radius in range because of its growth from a regular Flan.

Sai infused his blades with magic and started striking rapidly with Firestrike, timing his attacks so that he could get out of the way when the Dire Flan attempted to retaliate. Sai had been trying to master new abilities, deciding it was a good time to try and test out his Synergist and Saboteur abilities. Sai cast Haste on himself before then hitting the Dire Flan with Slow and Curse. Those were the easiest debuffs to cast, and Sai decided that getting any others on would take too long, so he went full offensive.

He used Ruin spells to keep the stagger up, before using Firestrike to build a gauge. It wasn't a fast process all on his own, but he managed it. He struck with all he had during the stagger, but a moment later he felt the familiar wave of power sweeping across the battlefield before he was hit with Defaith, Deprotect, and Fog. Stupid Rakshasa and its Disastrous Dance.

The stagger of the Dire Flan was nearing its end, and Sai knew that he had to do something. He ran in for a Scourge, rearing back and striking the Dire Flan as hard as he could. He struck the monster, but to his surprise, his blades started glowing and split to have five golden blades and five silver ones - the extra weapons floating around him in formation.

Sai was moving before he even knew what was happening. He was pulled back by the blades, floating behind him as though to imitate wings. He waved his hand as his swords started spinning around him, faster and faster as they began to glow with energy.

"Ashes to Ashes!"

Sai threw his hand up and out and then forward as though he was throwing a baseball, and the blades flew out from their circle, back and up behind Sai, before making a U-turn and then shooting forward like bullets. Each weapon struck the Dire Flan, adding up more and more damage before Sai held his hands together and a single, large, blue crystal broadsword that pulsed with a purple, red, and orange aura appeared in his grip.

"Phoenix Strike!"

He reared back and then threw the sword forward. It struck the Dire Flan, and for just a split second, nothing happened. Then, everything exploded. The aura of the weapon expanded and seemed to make every one of the swords self-destruct. In a blinding blast, the earth shook, and Sai dropped to the ground, holding his hands out as he caught his initial silver and his golden blades (all of the others having disappeared) and the dust settled. There was no trace of the Dire Flan.

Sai was breathing hard, in shock. Though he had been elegant and seemingly prepared during the attack, his body had been on auto-pilot. He had no idea how he did what he just did, but then he looked down at his swords, still shimmering with a slight aura of power.

"Thank you, Rei," Sai whispered to the wind.

Sai sheathed his blades before hurrying over to Hope, who was just regaining his bearings and casting healing spells on himself. Sai wanted to help him, but he remembered that he had been hit with Fog and had no access to his magic. It would wear off in a couple minutes, he knew, so he didn't worry about it, more concerned with Hope's health.

"You okay?" Sai asked.

Hope held his head. "Uh…yeah, I think so."

Sai chuckled. "We should get back to the others. They'd never forgive me if I didn't get you back to camp so they can check you out properly."

Hope nodded. "Yeah, that's a good idea."

The chocobo chick squeaked and revealed that she was okay too, and the two boys couldn't help but laugh. Sai stood and offered his hand to Hope.

And that was when he was struck.

Sai was thrown to the side by a hard hit from a shuriken. The Rakshasa had been forgotten about once more, and it had thrown one of its shurikens at the unsuspecting Sai - once he'd let his guard down. Sai was hit with enough force to throw him a good five meters to the side with a crack from his back or his skull, either way, it didn't sound nice and a slice down his side, the shuriken being so large that it basically struck every part of Sai's torso and above. Not to mention that he still had Deprotect

"Sai!"

Hope felt like  _he_  was the one who had been struck, rather than Sai. So many times his friends were taking hits for him, getting hurt because they were more focused on Hope's safety rather than their own. They were going to get themselves killed at this rate, killed because they were trying to protect Hope.

He was the youngest of the group, the smallest, the weakest. He was holding all of them back. One day, at this rate, they were going to take a hit that they couldn't recover from. These people were Hope's friends, they were all in this fight together, and Hope didn't know what he'd do if one of them got killed in his place. Their hopes that Hope would make it, live a life, find a way to break his l'Cie curse…he wouldn't be able to do that, hold all their dreams on his shoulders, go on without his friends knowing that it was his life they had traded theirs for. Hope didn't know if he'd be able to bear that burden, that guilt.

Hope couldn't help but imagine it. He imagined returning to the others, telling them Sai had died trying to help him, distracted by Hope and that it was all his fault. He imagined being forced to go on without another member of their team. He couldn't bear that loss again, he couldn't stand moving forward without another teammate.

Before he knew it, Hope's brand seared hot on his wrist.

Hope screamed.

He wasn't entirely sure what happened. He just knew that his emotions seemed to sweep over him all at once, and then physical pain followed seconds later. Was this it? Was he turning into a Cie'th? Fang  _had_  said that emotions could speed up the brand's development. No, he couldn't die, not now, not after all this. He couldn't leave his friends to feel the same loss that he had feared feeling himself. He couldn't be that selfish.

' _No!_ ' Hope thought.

And that was the last thing he remembered before he exploded with energy, trying to fight for his life against his brand, sending the Rakshasa to oblivion, and Sai into the canyon wall.

* * *

The group ran in to find Hope passed out on the riverbank where he'd been gathering the fruits for the others. Luckily, his head wasn't submerged in the stream, but he was still passed out cold.

"Hope!" Snow shouted.

Snow, Lightning, Shu, and Charon all kneeled around the boy while Fang, Vanille, and Sazh all stood behind, waiting for a verdict about Hope.

"Kid, hey," Charon urged, shaking Hope's shoulder gently. "Come on, Hope, you can't give up now."

Charon took Hope's wrist to check his pulse before being drawn to something else entirely. Hope's brand had advanced a stage very violently, Charon still able to feel the residual energy.

Shu shot to their feet. "Where's Sai?!"

They dashed over to where the former soldier was knocked out against the canyon walls. Shu checked him over frantically, feeling a bump on his head and trying to check for any permanent damage.

"We need to get them back to camp," Shu declared. "Come on!"

* * *

"All we can do is wait," Charon said. "We've healed them, but we shouldn't wake them prematurely."

Everyone looked ready to protest at first, but in the end, they decided that it was best to leave them to wake on their own. Hope was the youngest one there, the boy that all of them treated like a little brother or like even a son depending on who it was. Sai was one of the nicest and collected of the group, usually acting as a leader that held everyone together when things got hard. With him out of commission, it felt as though there was no one to look to for advice on what to do. Charon was the next best thing at the moment, the one best under pressure, and it seemed that his mental state had improved significantly since his reconciliation with Shu. Either way, they would all rather be safe than sorry and take Charon's advice.

"Hope had a wound on his shoulder like he was attacked from behind," Shu reported. "Sai had a large head wound, a concussion that he passed out from, as well as a large cut on his abdomen. From what I can gather from the chocobo chick, Hope was ambushed from behind and took a big hit, unprepared. Sai lashed out and struck down the monster, but while Sai was tending to Hope's wound, he was caught off guard and was hit by a second monster. Hope freaked out, seeing Sai getting hurt when he was only trying to help and look after Hope, and then…Hope just exploded with power or something and passed out, his brand flaring and advancing in a more violent manner than ever before."

"What happened?" Snow asked. "With his brand, I mean."

Shu shrugged. "Who can say? All I can tell you is that it was an emotional explosion - that's the only thing that makes sense that would power a brand's advancement like that. He may have simply freaked out when he thought Sai was getting hurt, or maybe its something else that Hope's been hiding from us. We'll have to ask him when he wakes."

"How long will it be?" Vanille asked worriedly.

"A few hours, maybe. But you never know."

* * *

_Sai was dreaming._

_He was standing in a cozy little village with Rei by his side. They were standing on a beach of crystal dust, looking out at the water that seemed to be shimmering as though the salt in salt water had been replaced with nothing but crystal ashes._

_"This is the place," Rei said._

_"What place?" Sai asked._

_"The place where Anima once laid dreaming. The place where it all began. The Great War - the one you call the War of Transgression - this is where it started."_   _She turned to him. "Come to me, love. Please. Just one last time."_

_"You…you're dead. You're gone, Rei."_

_"There are footprints we leave in this world, Sai. I…I have only a few more left, and I wanna use them to see you."_

_She was on the verge of crying, turning back to the shimmering sea._

_"Our lives have been ruined by fate. I wanted to live with you, and Shu, and Charon, all of us in a little home together. It wouldn't be much, but it would be more than enough. Shu could have their own garden, Charon would hunt for meat, you would get water from a well, and I'd cook. We joke around, we'd laugh, we'd work together on a certain task and compete in others. I'd watch you grow old and find a way to preserve your life, somehow. Shu and I, working together, surely we could give you the energy to live. We'd have a big yard, acres of it, to run around in our true forms. I would fly through the sky freely, take you for a ride sometime maybe. I'd show you what it was like to be free, out here in the wild, without all your fancy Cocoon technology. We'd be happy, maybe forever. But that life was taken from us. Or we were never destined to have it in the first place._

_"I was killed, you're a l'Cie, Charon's been left to lose everything that he loves, along with his hope of a better future, and Shu…their heart has been broken ten times over. It's_ cold _here, Sai. Lonely. It feels like I'm being consumed by a blanket of darkness. It wraps around me, it won't let go. I get this…_ splitting  _headache and I just want it to_  stop _. But here…when you're here, it does. Just for a second. I…I'm in Oerba. Shu and I, we loved it here. We lived in the mountains over there."_

_She pointed to the dunes of crystal dust._

_"Oh, well I guess it's probably gone now. But it's still beautiful. We lived in this hidden area near the springs not far off. Taejin's Tower's tower rose high above in the sky, at least before it fell. There's so much history on this world, and this village was always our favorite to come to. There's a piece of me left here, and I can reach out from the realm of death. If I could just see you again, one more time, it'd ease the pain. Please, Sai. I won't ask anything else of you, I just want to see you! One last time!"_

_"I…"_

_He struggled to come up with what to say._

_The world started to darken. Black tendrils of smoke reached out, seeping from the ground, the sea, the air itself._

_She looked back for a moment to realize what it was and tried to reach out. "No. No!"_

_The smoke wrapped around her, gripping her somehow despite seemingly being nothing but vapor._

_"Get off me! No!"_

_'_ It feels like I'm being consumed by a blanket of darkness. It wraps around me, it won't let go. _'_

_He acted without a second thought. It all started to make sense._

_"Release her!"_

_He reached out for her arm, gripping her hand and planting his feet, but the forcing holding her was solid as a brick wall._

_"Don't let go!" She begged. "Don't let it take me again!"_

_She was sobbing, and he pulled harder. "I've got you, I swear, I won't let go!"_

_His feet dug into the sand, but he was being dragged along back with her. "No!"_

_Her grip released, leaving only him holding onto her wrist. "What are you doing?!"_

_"You'll be taken too," She sobbed. "I can't let it take you too."_

_She shook her wrist free and was suddenly ripped away, sucked into a cloud of darkness. She closed her eyes and let herself be devoured by the blackness._

* * *

The sun had set and the campfire had been lit. Shadows danced across the group, the orange light illuminating grim faces all around. Vanille was sitting over Hope, while Shu was sitting beside Sai, still unconscious on the mats. Charon was beside them, letting Shu lean on him while they stared at Sai in an almost comatose-like sleep.

Vanille sat back before standing slowly, turning back to the group.

"So  _this_  is how it ends?" Snow snapped, jumping to his feet.

"Just wait," Sazh said. "Now how long has it been since we left Cocoon? Hm? Not a single soul for miles around, not a single  _clue_  about this whole l'Cie mess!"

Snow stepped forward, looking ready to protest, but Sazh continued.

"What I'm saying is, we did well just getting this far."

Snow lost his energy, letting out a heavy sigh.

Vanille stepped forward. "But…we  _could_  go a little further."

"Meaning?" Sazh asked skeptically.

"There's still that fal'Cie," Shu pointed out.

"He was last seen at Taejin's Tower's tower, right?" Charon asked. "That's a ways away. What if he's not there?"

"Well, there's still  _one_  place…" Vanille began.

"Vanille!" Fang interrupted, jumping to her feet. "Are you  _sure?_ "

She gave a sad smile and nodded. "I'm sure."

"You know, if we don't  _find_  anything this time, we won't  _get_  another chance," Lightning pointed out, standing with her arms crossed, leaning against a piece of scrap metal.

"Where, Vanille?" Charon asked. "Taejin's Tower lies to the north. If you're thinking of a place that's too far out of the way, we'll be forced to pick and choose our battles."

"It's to the north as well. Actually, I think I know what tower you're talking about. We can check out both locations together."

"And if we're wrong about both?" Sazh asked.

Vanille lowered her head, losing her words.

"Oerba," Sai muttered. "The place it all began."

The group all looked up and turned toward him. Shu sat forward, leaning over him.

"Sai?"

His eyes were still closed, but he seemed as though he was reciting the information given to him, like he was reading it from a book in his sleep. "The place where the Pulse fal'Cie lay dreaming."

Hope reached up his hand to the sky and stars above him, obscured by a light layer of clouds. "Vanille and Fang's home."

Hope's eyes slid open, he seemed in a daze.

"Hope."

Snow and Vanille were quickly at Hope's side.

"Just maybe…" Hope turned his raised hand to look at his wrist where his brand was peaking out. "…it'll be the place where we find the answers we're looking for."

Fang shifted from foot to foot nervously, putting her hand on her hip. "Yeah right.  _If_  we can get there."

"No!"

Sai shot up with almost inhuman speed - not that he was technically considered human anymore, but still. He was instantly on high alert, a panicked look in his eyes as well as a rage. It was desperation, anger, and helplessness.

"Sai?" Charon said carefully, his breathing ragged. "Put…the sword…down."

Sai only now seemed to realize that he had somehow grabbed Zanmato and now had it at Shu's neck, who had been leaning over Sai only moments before to see if he was awake. Shu was frozen completely still, their eyes telling a complete story of fear and shock, a dread of betrayal that they had faced not long ago. Not Sai too. Not Charon, then Rei, then Sai.

Sai breathed hard for a few moments, taking in what Charon had just said, before finally connecting the dots.

"Oh my gods…"

He carefully pulled the sword back and then tossed it away.

"I'm  _so_  sorry…!"

Shu swallowed, still stuck in their frozen position. Charon grabbed his sword and stuck it back in its sheath. No one else should've been able to wield that blade, Sai shouldn't have been able to get it out of its sheath, let alone survive.

Charon moved in front of Shu. "Flower? Hey, look at me. You're okay now. You're okay, right?"

Shu moved their eyes up to his as though just registering that he was in front of them.

"I…"

Charon cupped Shu's face with his hands. "You're okay. You're all right. Right?"

Shu nodded, a subtle movement that could barely be noticed by anyone but Charon. Charon wanted to hug them, kiss them, make all the pain go away, but his body stopped him before any of that could happen. He had a natural instinct that had developed - the knowledge that he probably no longer had a right to even be  _near_  Shu after what he'd done causing him to hesitate.

What were the two of them? They weren't enemies anymore, but at the same time could they ever be in a position to love each other again? Shu would be fine with it, but would Charon? Would he ever be able to forgive himself?

"I'm sorry," Sai repeated, chanting it like a mantra. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I-I was just having this nightmare and…" He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Oerba. We…we need to go to Oerba. I don't know  _why_ , but…we need to go. Just to check it out."

Shu blinked. "O…Oerba. Right. W-We can make it to Oerba. Taejin's Tower is very close to it. If our target fal'Cie was last seen near the tower, the odds are that he was going to Oerba. It's the nearest civilization, after all."

"So that's our best bet," Lightning summarized. "Two birds, one stone. Pretty straightforward."

Hope chuckled weakly. "Go ahead without me."

He sat up with a small grunt and Vanille helped him sit up. "We can't just  _leave_  you!"

He held a hand up. "I'll be fine." He rose to his feet. "You've all taught me so much - showed me how to fight."

He stiffly stood, unable to stand up straight before he stumbled forward. Everyone exclaimed in surprise; Snow was the nearest, catching Hope quickly and pulling him close.

"What did I tell you?" He scolded lightly. "Leave the fighting to me."

Shu stood, leaning down to Hope with a small smile. "I'd like to think we've taught you more than just how to fight, Hope. I wanna believe that we've taught you how to  _love_. Love your mother and honor her memory, love your father and get to understand him, and maybe one day you'll find someone you love like me. Thanks to us, you're prepared for the worst."

Shu booped Hope on the nose in a childish fashion, trying to get across that they were using a gentle and warm tone, meant to be uplifting. Hope smiled, but his lips trembled and his eyes watered. He closed them as tears ran down his face and his smile broke down.

"I'm scared…" He admitted.

Snow released his grip on Hope, allowing the kid to stand on his own and aiming him towards the woman walking up, the one that had taught him the most, and the one who he himself had saved as well.

Lightning put a hand on his shoulder. "We understand," She assured him. "You're  _not_  gonna go through this ordeal  _alone_ , you know."

She tapped her finger against his chin to get him to look up, seeing one of Lightning's rare affectionate smiles. Once, a smile like that would've been reserved for none but her sister. She had been smiling a little more often now that they'd become a true team, having to look out for each other as a weird, wacky, diverse, tough, loving family.

But Hope only seemed to become more distressed at the sight. "That's what  _scares_  me!" He said, his voice breaking. "I don't…I don't wanna see you get hurt because of  _me!_  Look at what happened today! If I hadn't…if I'd just…"

"Hope, it  _wasn't_  your  _fault_ ," Sai said.

"Yes it was!" He buried his face in his hands. "It would be better for everyone if I just stayed behind…"

His brand flashed.

Hope was instantly consumed in a blinding yellow-green light, causing Lightning, Snow, and Shu - the closest three to him - to stagger back, holding their arms up to shield their eyes. Vanille and Sai, who were standing a little further back, exclaimed in surprise, before the ground shook and a giant glowing symbol appeared on the ground, seemingly having its own gravitational force. It was large, larger even than Lightning's had been, larger than Fang's had been (though it was hard to tell since Bahamut's summoning circle had appeared in the sky). Shiva and Brynhildr - Snow and Sazh's Eidolons alike - had formed from orbs of ice and fire, which were hard to compare, but it was clear that the diameters of those orbs of summoning energy weren't as big as this one.

Hope's summoning symbol was more square than Lightning or Fang's had been, four different extensions on each side that were almost like pyramids with small blocks connecting to the main square (at which Hope was the epicenter) and larger and larger steps going outwards. There were small boxes at the corners, with a circle underneath the main square, its diameter equal to the length of the square if you drew a line from its diagonals.

Hope started to scream in agony, trying to hold it in. A large obelisk-shaped pillar formed around Hope, rising up before shooting four beams up into the sky, shaking the ground from the force. It almost resembled the elevator that they had taken back in Palumpolum to exit the sewer system with Carbuncle. When the four beams met in the night sky, they flashed like the sun was dying - or more accurately, something as intense and powerful as a star was being  _formed_  rather than destroyed.

Hope managed to look up through all the chaos, only to see a large titan becoming visible when the light in the sky faded. It dropped down the ground - not at the center of the summoning circle thank goodness, since Hope was currently standing there, and not atop anyone else either. Though the summoning circle took up nearly half of the large campsite they'd built, the giant mechanical Eidolon was as wide as the main circle/square in the center at his shoulder length and had to be twenty feet tall.

Upon landing, the summoning circle vanished in an explosion, as though when the Eidolon landed on it, the summoning symbol popped like a balloon. Hope was the only one unaffected by the shockwave of the landing, looking up at the creature before him in awe.

"Alexander!" Shu exclaimed.

Fang and Lightning had been thrown back, landing gracefully on their feet. Everyone else, not so much. Shu had fallen into Charon's arms, but Sai had fallen into the mats that he had been resting on before. Sazh and Snow landed in the grass a good distance away, nearly rolling heels over head from the force and angles that they landed at, while Vanille landed in the grass as well but on her back, able to sit up much quicker and try to dust herself off.

Fang, Lightning, and Sai were the first to run up and join Hope, holding their weapons out as they stood between him and the giant.

"Mention ordeals, and look what comes along!" Fang commented.

"This is  _not_  an ordeal," Lightning corrected. "This is a  _gift!_  Hope!" She nodded towards the looming Eidolon. " _This_  is the kind of power you've got inside. And it's telling you  _not_  to give up!  _Trust_  me."

"He's here to push you forward!" Shu called. "We can't leave you behind, Hope, and this guy's here to tell you that you're not out of this fight yet! You have to beat him or die trying, because if you want us to leave you behind, you've got another thing coming to you: Alexander."

Hope's eyes showed how he was considering their words. After so much fear and doubt crushing him day by day, Hope was beginning to falter. But this was not over, he was stronger than he thought he was.

"Oh, I get it," Fang agreed, having also faced her own Eidolon recently. "It's here to show you the way. Show you that you've  _got_  what it takes to get back on your feet and  _do_  this thing!"

Hope looked up to the giant. "You mean…that came from  _me?_ "

"Of  _course_  it did!" Sai encouraged. "Now it's time to kick its ass, Hope, and prove what we've all known about you for a long time now - that you are as strong as this creature and beyond!"

Hope met the glowing eyes of the Eidolon, Alexander seemingly waiting to see if Hope was willing to fight him. Hope looked down at his glowing brand that had summoned the towering mechanical man - still shimmering a light blue from the summon being active.

Hope stepped forward, in front of his friends, and flicked his boomerang open. He didn't need them to protect him; now, it was his turn to take charge.

Fang, Sai, and Lightning each shared a glance before nodding in sync. They would back Hope up as he conquered his greatest fears and his greatest strengths. Hope would not be alone defeating his Eidolon, and he would not be alone as he fought his fate to the finish.


	35. A Man's Hope Is His Castle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They came to a crossroad with two different paths, and Shu looked left and right. "Uuuuummmmm…that way!"
> 
> They led them down the left path, only to find that it not only led to a dead end, but it also led to a Juggernaut cage. When Charon opened the large doors, the large machine came stomping out and was instantly ready to blow a wave of fire from its hands and then shoot a Wrecking Ball at the nearest l'Cie. Luckily it was Snow who both had a hard head and was defending as a Sentinel at the time.
> 
> "Whoops," Shu whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Greetings from school where I'm posting this since I finished my essay and I have a computer with me at the time and I was like 'Why not?')
> 
> A fun fact that I never knew before: every Eidolon except Vanille's is supposed to have the ability to heal your character when your character becomes low on health - you are not supposed to die against any of the Eidolons to anything but Doom. I initially made it so that my fal'Cie OCs were allowed to interfere with the fight only by healing the l'Cie (as in they weren't allowed to help attack the Eidolons, only heal the party) with the reasoning that the Doom counter was all that mattered here, not their actual health. The l'Cie have to be given a chance to fight for their lives and the timer should've been the only thing that killed them, and I was right! The Eidolons (minus Vanille's) are supposed to have access to the Curaga ability to heal your main character when they become low on health, but I have literally never seen it happen other than with Snow at the beginning of the game with Nix. Alexander is naturally slow and said to be slow when it came to healing Hope, but in general none of the Eidolons after Snow (again, barring Vanille's since he's not supposed to be able to heal you) have ever used Curaga on my characters. While I was doing research on Vanille's Eidolon, one of the main things mentioned is that he is the only one to not have Curaga, but when I look to the other Eidolon fights, beyond Snow's, there's no mention of any healing by the Eidolon to the player. Hope's kinda mentions it, acknowledging that Alexander is slow and therefore slow at healing Hope, but I've never seen Alexander do any healing.
> 
> Maybe it's just once you've summoned them? I dunno. But why would Vanille's Eidolon just not be able to heal her when the others can? That seems a bit weird to me. Meh.
> 
> Enjoy :)

Hope was put on his Doom timer, but began casting his spells all the same. Sai helped out as a Commando to keep the gauge up, having to jump up to attack the metal chest of Alexander.

Fang was smart enough to guess that this titan hit hard, using Challenge and then Entrench just before she was hit with a Soaring Uppercut that would've sent her flying had she not been guarding. Lightning started with a more defensive strategy, healing Fang for the damage of the attack, but with her Entrench, she took a lot less damage than expected.

They moved to all out attack, switching between Commando attacks and Ravager spells. Lightning and Sai had elemental-strike abilities, while Hope could only be a spell caster and Fang could only be a Commando.

"Be careful!" Shu cried.

Alexander spread his feet and held up his hand like a cannon, his fist shooting like an RPG with Blast Punch right at Hope, and by extension Fang - who was standing next to him at the time - and then his arm regenerated back into place. Alexander then held up his other fist a little more causally before it shot off as an Explosive Fist, striking Fang with an earth-shaking blast and completely knocking her out as his arm returned to him again.

"Damn, that fist was  _explooosive_ ," Charon quipped.

"Not the time," Shu scolded.

"Just heal."

"I'm not as good at reviving as Rei was…"

He put a hand on their shoulder. "You're  _great_. Better than me. I'm death, you're life, Flower."

Shu looked at him before nodding, waving their hand as a soft yellow light surrounded Fang and blew upwards like a breeze, little Phoenix feathers appearing to show that she was being revived that helped her wake up and get to her feet with a little health. Hope and Lightning were quick to heal up the rest of her health so that Fang wouldn't be instantly KO'ed again.

"We can keep you healed, but the Doom counter  _will_  kill you Hope!" Shu called. "You have to do this!"

They went on the offensive again, this time Lightning taking a downwards punch that took over half her health. Not one to be taken down easily, she rolled to her feet again and backed up carefully, but Alexander took a step forward and hit her again, this time hard enough to knock  _her_  out. Shu revived her while Sai healed her up, but Hope knew that going full offensive wasn't working.

"New strategy!"

Fang went into Sentinel, knowing she was capable of taking the hits. She blocked another Soaring Uppercut as Hope used Renew - fully healing the group, but something he could only use two times before he had to recharge. Alexander used  _another_  Soaring Uppercut on Fang, taking out a good chunk of her health despite her defending, before he used Lofty Challenge, spreading his arms to use a provoking motion.

The others went offensive again for a moment, knowing that Hope's clock was ticking and they were running out of time.

"Defensive!" Shu shouted. "You're not at full health!"

They suddenly seemed to realize Shu was right, snapped out of the provoked daze and went to healing as quickly as possible. Once they were healed, they saw no other choice but to go offensive again, but Alexander unleashed another Blast Punch, Explosive Fist combo that devastated the group. Sai was the target this time, but Hope was nearly knocked out just from being too close. Hope used his final chance at Renew for a quick heal, not getting them all to full strength, but reviving Sai with at least half of his.

Since Fang was no longer defending, Lightning took a Soaring Uppercut and was launched into the air, and now Alexander finally could use Obliterator, rearing back and punching Lightning as she fell, instantly KO'ing her.

Shu revived her this time. "You have seconds Hope! You've almost got him! Go! All of you! Just GOOO!"

They went all out attack with everything they had, no longer focusing on health.

Hope stepped forward and raised his hand. "Here I go!"

Alexander was pulled under his control, six pillars, three on either side of Alexander, digging their way up from the ground. Alexander himself folded in on himself, his shoulder pauldrons coming forward to form a platform, spikes jutting out. From the sky, six top halves of the pillars came blasting down, connecting with the bottom six and then to Alexander as his head retracted, before he spread them out for form a pure wall of power. The Eidolon's pillars of machinery whirred, parts opening to reveal blasters and lasers, while the tops of the columns burned like torches, prepared to release molten rock bombs. The pillars could be lifted and dropped in sync or at random intervals to create earthquakes, and Hope jumped up to the main body that had turned into a platform for him where Alexander's main chest cavity could now open into an enormous and powerful blaster.

Hope had tamed one of the most powerful Eidolons out there.

Hope jumped down as Alexander reverted, riding one of his pillars as they rocketed back up into the sky where they came from.

Silence fell upon the area as Hope stared at the brand on his wrist.

"That's  _some_  beast you tamed, I'll tell you that," Sazh commented.

Hope nodded. "Yeah. I always thought…" He lowered his arm slowly. "…the Eidolons appeared to set us  _free_ through  _death_. But now…I think maybe they're here to snap us out of our slumps."

Snow sauntered forward and clapped Hope on the back. "Oh? Like the one  _you_  were just in?"

Hope chuckled weakly. "I'll ask for help earlier next time around."

"The Eidolon make you choose," Charon said. "They make you understand how much you really wanna live. If you wanna give up, sure, they  _can_  set you free through death. But they're supposed to push you forward, show you that you're more capable than you think. They make you reconsider your decision to surrender."

"It's been hard for all of us recently," Shu said before shrugging with a smile. "The gloom, am I right?"

Vanille hurried over to hug Hope. "I told you. On Gran Pulse, we're  _all_  family." She pulled back, her hands on his shoulder. "You can moan all you like, but you're stuck with us," She giggled.

A wave of smiles swept through the crowd.

Sazh chuckled and waved a finger. "You're never alone in hell."

Fang frowned and put her hands on her hips. "Listen, funnyman, don't call this place hell, all right?"

Sazh had his hands up in defense and backed up nervously.

Lightning, hoping to diffuse  _that_  situation, put her hands on her hips and spoke to the entire group. "So, we're all decided then?"

Snow nodded. Then Sazh and Hope.

"Yeah," Fang agreed.

"Yup," Vanille added.

"Having a plan is better than nothing," Sai said. "I'm in."

"We're obviously coming too!" Shu announced, raising Charon's hand as well as their own. "What would you be without us?"

"Probably happier and more peaceful," Charon muttered.

"Now don't be so negative, mister," Shu scolded. "No one is allowed negativity anymore!"

Sazh and Snow started playfully berating Hope for  _his_  negativity, but in a way, assuring him that they weren't gonna let that happen ever again. Fang and Vanille smiled together, Shu started talking to Sai, and Charon and Lightning kinda stood in the back silently.

 _Maybe nothing would change. And maybe we'd hit a dead end. But, we were at least going to see where the road would take us. And search for a home buried in the past. And the faintest glimmer of hope. Our final journey had just begun_.

* * *

Hope was the first to run forward, out into the Archylte Steppe.

"We just have to head north and there should be some tunnels created by Atomos," Charon said. "It's a ways away, but not too far if we know where we're going."

Across the plains, monsters roamed the area, some in the air, some on the ground. There were smaller one like the wolf-like creatures, but there were also bigger ones like Behemoth Kings and Tortoise creatures, stomping forward on a casual walk. In the sky, Cocoon floated quietly in the distance.

Hope nodded confidently. "Let's go!"

The others nodded and the group walked forward.

"I think it's starting to sink in," Fang mentioned as they walked. "We're home."

"I think it's safe to say things won't be  _boring_  here," Lightning mused.

It wasn't long before a stone lying flat on the ground rose up to hover in front of them. It was a dark blue at the bottom, the image of a person carved on the front in silver that faded to meld with the glowing blue rock at the tips at the top. There was a small metal horseshoe-shaped ring of metal that seemed to almost hug the odd stone from behind, which connected with a larger ring that was vertical going 270 degrees around the back of it so that the bottom quarter was gone. At the bottom, the carved image of a person swept below like a tail.

"This stone," Vanille muttered. "It's…"

"Look familiar?" Charon asked. "It's a kind of Cie'th. It's in the last stage."

"A Cie'th?" Lightning asked curiously with a hint of skepticism.

"Don't worry," Shu said. "It's no threat to anyone anymore. L'Cie that fail their Focus become Cie'th and wander the wilds. Eventually, they lose the will to go on and turn to stone. But still, even in this state, they can't forget the task they once had."

"They call out to l'Cie, over and over: 'Complete my Focus.' The Focus is the only thing they have left," Charon continued.

"So they're doomed to eternal regret, huh?" Sazh summarized. "That's…pretty horrible."

"Wh - Hey, we should help this one out," Snow urged. "Come on. W-We can't just  _ignore_  it. Listen, if we fail  _our_  Focus, it could be  _us_  suffering like that."

" _Wow_ , what a  _happy_  thought," Sai said sarcastically. "That's not like you."

"But going out of his way to help someone? That's Snow all over," Lightning pointed out.

"Well, let's see what it wants," Hope suggested.

Shu put their hand up to the stone and the large metal ring flashed blue around the edges.

' _The gelatinous rube beside that pond is the very Ectopudding I seek! I need only slay it to avoid becoming a Cie'th_.

' _How many years must it have been since I left the village in pursuit of that vile pest? My brand will not wait forever. I must kill it, and quick. And then, when I awaken from my crystal slumber, I can help to repair the ruin it left in its wake_ …'

"It says the Ectopudding should be here in the Central Expanse, and that the pond that it's talking about shouldn't be too far from our current location," Shu reported.

"A Class D Focus," Charon reported. "This one had to have had a pretty long time to complete the Focus, years even. But in comparison, you've all got Class S Focuses - not a lot of time and a lot more difficult, but you've got a lot more power."

"If you prove yourself to the weaker classes of Cie'th Stones, the ones with higher ranking Focuses will start calling on you for help," Shu added. "There are all kinds of Cie'th Stones across Pulse."

"If nothing else, they'll be good training for the battles to come," Charon concluded.

"You think we should split up for these easier ones?" Hope asked.

"Sounds like a smart idea," Lightning agreed. "Pick and choose your teams."

* * *

"Look at how  _cute!_ " Shu exclaimed. "Such adorable little furballs, aren't they?!"

"They seem awful gentle, but they've managed to survive here somehow, huh?" Charon agreed.

"I think you're scaring them, Shu," Sai said.

They gasped. " _No!_  They love me, right buddies?"

The fuzzy sheep flock stared at them in awe.

Sai petted one that came his way. "You think the other animals just think they don't taste good and so they're left alone? Or maybe the other monsters think they're just as cute and wanna preserve them."

Charon looked around. "Shouldn't that Behemoth thing be over here?"

Sai looked around. "Dunno. But it's beautiful here. Fire lilies. Isn't that what those are called?"

Shu giggled. "If the  _view's_  enough to impress you, you've got a  _lot_  of surprises in store."

Charon frowned. "I'll go check around the pond."

He walked off.

"What's the bug up  _his_  arse?" Sai asked.

"He's still recovering," Shu said. "But he's definitely getting better."

"I  _meant_  why's he getting all jealous again? You two are together again, right?"

Shu sighed. "I'm not sure. Charon seems too scared to even suggest it."

Sai saw that Shu was distraught at the thought. "Hey, it'll work itself out. He loves you more than anything, he's just afraid of losing you again once he's accepted your love again."

Shu deflated, staring at one of the fuzzy sheep sadly. "I want him back, the him that's willing to love me."

"He's  _willing_  to love you. He's just  _afraid_  to."

Shu picked up the baby sheep. "That's comforting."

The sheep made a small noise as though to say ' _Sup?_ '

Sai looked over to Charon fighting a Kaiser Behemoth. It was a hard battle to be fought alone, but Charon was taking the powerful hits without flinching. He retaliated hard, he wasn't affected by the Fogga, and it wasn't long before he struck down the beast. Not that either of them doubted he would win.

"I wanna kiss him so hard right now," Shu sighed.

"Thanks for the update," Sai said sarcastically.

"You're welcome."

* * *

"Well what do you know?" Charon blinked. "A Megistotherian and a Behemoth King in a duel."

"You think they'll move any time soon?" Sai asked.

"Unlikely," Shu said. "They're both very strong."

"That's a Waystone, right?" Lightning asked, pointing.

The group had already found four different Cie'th Stones that had the special ability to teleport those who completed its Focus - aka Waystones. One was in the Ruins of Paddra deep within Yaschas Massif, another on the path to Paddra, one near their campsite in the mountains, and one near the southern edge of the Archylte Steppe. They had been taken back through Yaschas for certain missions and all the way to the Northern Highplain, discovering the teleporting Waystones as well as the Palings - red Cie'th Stones that were connected to matching red barriers that would only dissipate when the missions from the respective Paling was completed. The Palings had some of the harder missions: The Undying Cie'th, Cie'th that were more powerful than the others and even seemed to warp the area where they appeared.

They had only stopped on their tangent when Charon had warned them that certain missions were going to be too hard for them to deal with.

"These purple ones? They're Class A monsters. These Class B monsters will also start to become more difficult."

"These more recent battles  _have_  increased in difficulty," Lightning said. "We'll have to learn where to draw the line."

"There are probably easier Cie'th Stones that we'll face as we head closer to Oerba. For now, let's retreat and start to Taejin's Tower."

Now, the group had come together to head up to where Atomos's tunnels would begin, only to be faced with a slightly perilous obstacle. Beyond the two monsters, a silver teleporting Cie'th Stone could be seen.

"Wanna jump in and take 'em both down?" Charon suggested.

Snow shrugged. "Sounds like a good enough plan to me."

"The Megistotherians and Behemoth Kings come here to duel all the time," Shu said. "It won't be a permanent fix, but it'll certainly get us a way through."

"Or we could just go back and around to climb down that cliff behind the fight," Hope suggested.

"Where's the fun in that?" Sai smirked.

"On  _that_  we can agree," Charon said. "I'll go for the king first - he's got a transformation. I'm stronger, I can take him out."

"Meaning mega-wolfie is mine."

The two jumped into the fray together.

Shu shook their head. "Friends already."

The group went to join the two as they quickly wiped out the monsters, having all gained a good deal of strength from completing some of the Cie'th Stone missions. They examined the teleportation Cie'th Stone and found its target was a Pulsework Champion - nothing they couldn't handle.

They headed down into the tunnels of Atomos - into the Mah'habara Subterra.

"I don't even wanna  _think_  how many bad things must be waiting for us," Vanille muttered.

"Better keep an eye on the shadows," Hope agreed.

"Pulsework machines will be down here, most likely," Charon said. "This was once a place where humans lived, making their homes within these tunnels and mining for resources, precious minerals and stuff. Heavy duty equipment was necessary, and with their owners gone, they seem to just be wandering around aimlessly."

"Funny, I don't remember this place," Shu said. "Probably for good reason. It's dark and dreary down here, no sunlight. Plants don't like it here."

They found the occasional beam of sunlight where plants and grass were growing, but Shu was right. This underground network didn't have any life beyond the machines. The first ones they encountered were the Hoplites. They were made to mimic humans - legs, arms, a head - but they were made for digging and equipped with sharp spikes that could be ejected from their arms at high speeds for piercing power. They had high defense and durability as well as System Upgrades where they could increase their strength with Bravery. Of course, it was easy to guess their weakness - Thunder, as well as an earth-based Quake spell from Charon. There were the newest types of bombs, Cryohedrons, which were ice-based and had their explosive Self-Destruct abilities that could prove to be quite deadly. When the two were combined, it was an all-out fight to the finish with buffs to protect the group and offensive strength to defeat the machines fast enough.

They came to a crossroad with two different paths, and Shu looked left and right. "Uuuuummmmm…that way!"

They led them down the left path, only to find that it not only led to a dead end, but it also led to a Juggernaut cage. When Charon opened the large doors, the large machine came stomping out and was instantly ready to blow a wave of fire from its hands and then shoot a Wrecking Ball at the nearest l'Cie. Luckily it was Snow who both had a hard head and was defending as a Sentinel at the time.

"Whoops," Shu whispered.

"Move!" Lightning called.

They split up to make sure there were healers all around so that they weren't all struck by a move at once. Shu put their hands together and launched Sai up above the Juggernaut so that he landed on top, grabbing onto the seat and searching for the controls.

"Don't worry, I got this!"

The Juggernaut swung its waves of fire at Fang, Hope, and Vanille.

"Sorry!"

He stabbed one of his swords into the machine, tearing it open and searching for the right wires. This Pulse machinery was certainly different from Cocoon tech, but he was learning and had been practicing a lot ever since he got the chance to see Pulse tech first-hand.

But that didn't mean he had any idea what he was doing here.

He had learned to diffuse bombs back in the Guardian Corps, he'd learned a small bit about technology, but this was a freaking juggernaut -  _literally_. And it was currently attacking his friends, so there wasn't a lot of time to think about it. In the end, he just stabbed the thing again and again with his swords until it started to spasm. The others were hitting it with Thunder spells, and Sai realized there was an even more efficient way to do this - he struck it right in the exposed wires with a Sparkstrike and it started steaming, spasming, and sparking as it broke down.

"Whoo! Got it!"

"Nice job!" Shu waved.

"Guess we're backtracking," Sazh said.

"Look on the bright side," Fang said. "It wasn't exactly a long walk here."

"And we've cleared the way," Hope added. "It should be a short trip to get back to where the path splits."

They agreed and headed through the tunnels once more, turning down the path that they had neglected before. This time, they faced a Boxed Phalanx a little after they turned a corner, along with its two Hoplite buddies. Fang, Hope, and Sazh were the first to take out a Hoplite, but the Boxed Phalanx Issued Orders - its eyes glowing and its arm swinging forward as though to point - and the Hoplites used a Version Upgrade, gaining Protect, Shell, Vigilance, Bravery, Shell, and Veil. Fang defeated the first Hoplite before it could utilize its upgrade, but with only one left, the Boxed Phalanx waved its arm forward for Deployment, summoning another three Hoplites into the fight.

Lightning, Vanille, and Snow went to work on the one remaining Hoplite that was upgraded while the others tried to take on the new three with wide attacks. Shu charged up to the Boxed Phalanx itself with their large sword raised. The struck it hard, their sword slicing through the metal, but the Phalanx had no ability to feel and used Issue Orders again to upgrade the new three Hoplites. It was a lose, lose situation - the Boxed Phalanx was the real problem, but once it had the Hoplites upgraded,  _they_  were the main issue.

The team was battered with multiple attacks at a time, Vanille and Hope having to stay as constant Medics with Lightning switching back and forth between offensive and defensive. Hope managed to get in Protect on everyone, while Fang decided that it was time to use some debuffs and use Dispel to try and remove the buffs. Still, even with Fang's efforts - Vanille joining in when she was able - the Hoplites simply regenerated all their buffs again with their Version Upgrade move. Snow was useful in being the Sentinel that he was, and when Fang decided that her Saboteur moves weren't working, she joined in as a Sentinel as well. Now it took only Vanille to keep the two healed and Hope could switch to Ravager. Vanille even got a couple chances to help with the spellcasting, and when Sai added on, now the three Sentinels together nullified their damage to barely anything. They weren't able to provoke the machines very well - they were machines after all - but they still helped in keep the damage far lower than before. They could simply get in the way of the attacks on their friends manually, and sometimes the provoking  _did_  work - as in they moved around and made themselves the most annoying targets ever. They needed one or two Cure spells here and there, but beyond that, the three of them rotated in and out to recharging and even using Mediguard to reduce the net damage even more. Now the others had free reign to attack the Hoplites.

The l'Cie went to work on the Hoplites while Shu and Charon worked together on smashing the Boxed Phalanx. To the pair's surprise, the Boxed Phalanx  _could_  actually fight on its own. It waved its arms, very big and bulky, to swing the weight into Shu, who was knocked to the ground in surprise. Charon stabbed it from behind with his Wakizashi, before slicing through its arms and then kicking its legs out from under it. He jumped on it and summoned the full weight from his true form to smash it to pieces.

"You okay?" He asked.

Shu sat up, looking bewildered. "Fine. Barely felt it." They looked down at the destroyed Boxed Phalanx. "Aw, you beat it already.  _I_  wanted to do it!"

Charon sighed with a small chuckle. "Sorry. You can get the next one."

He offered his hand and Shu took it to pull themself up. "Thanks."

Charon shrugged, dropping his gaze. "Sure."

Shu frowned. They wanted to ask, ' _Not even a kiss?_ ' in a playful manner but decided that Charon wouldn't appreciate it. Shu hated it, giving Charon the space that Shu knew he needed. It felt like they were being sliced in half every time they were reminded that Charon didn't want them to resume their former relationship. A lot had happened, sure, but at the moment, Shu just wanted someone to be by their side through all of the heartbreak and pain. At the same time, Charon needed someone to comfort him, but he wouldn't allow Shu to help. He didn't think that he  _deserved_  Shu's help. Shu considered ways to reject Charon's feelings, helping him no matter how he felt about it, but Shu just didn't have the heart for it.

Hope had cast Enthunder on the group for extra shocking attacks from Lightning's Sparkstrike moves, and with the Boxed Phalanx gone, it was just them and three Hoplites - no challenge at all and something they'd faced earlier on along with Cryohedrons. Fang stabbed her lance into one, Lightning slashed through another, and Sazh shot the third before Sai finished it off with a final strike.

"Yeah, teamwork!" Sai shouted.

"Well, they were certainly an  _interesting_  group," Sazh commented.

"Smart," Snow admitted. "For a bunch of robots."

"Pulse machinery isn't exactly primitive," Hope noticed. "All of the stuff we've encountered have been pretty advanced."

"I'll admit, I didn't expect Pulse to be so advanced technologically," Lightning said. "Fang and Vanille seemed more…hands on, wild, using nature more than anything else."

"You  _have_  to be that way on Pulse, yeah," Fang said. "We're diverse, not fully reliant on our gizmos like you Cocoon people, but not without some perks either."

"Looks like we've made it to one of the main stations for miners," Charon said, walking forward into a large open space. "That Boxed Phalanx was probably in charge of the security guarding this place."

Shu hurried over to the edge of a platform. The humans had built the platforms over a giant tunnel which continued onwards, a hole allowing sunlight to be let in above. The layers of the rock could be seen, pushed into a circular shape that turned in the distance so that the end of the tunnel couldn't be seen - if there even was one.

"Wow!"

Their voice echoed down the tunnel, the rock's shape turning it into an echo chamber.

"A Gran Pulse fal'Cie made this path," Fang announced.

"Yup," Vanille agreed. "I bet it's off digging more tunnels right now."

"They're…very  _different_  from all the fal'Cie we've seen on Cocoon, you know?" Hope noticed. "It's like they just plow through, without caring what happens around them. What did Charon say made them different?"

"The Cocoon fal'Cie were all made by Barthandelus," Charon said. "Cocoon fal'Cie were built specifically to cater to the needs of you humans, keep that planet of yours in the sky. These tunnels were made by Atomos. He believes that the path to the Unseen Realm can be found underground."

"Oh, right, the Unseen Realm was what the 'Maker' dude was looking for, right?" Shu remembered.

Charon nodded. "Atomos is just one of many fal'Cie, believing that the key to finding a way there is under the earth. Anima - the fal'Cie that you all were branded by on Cocoon - she believed the key laid within humans, or more specifically, giving humans tasks to complete to purify the land or something. That's why so many of those Cie'th Stones were made by people who's Focuses were to hunt some monster that may have proven unholy in some way. In the end, though, Anima didn't care about how many succeeded or failed, she didn't care how many humans died. She wasn't alone. A couple other fal'Cie found uses for humans, like Barthandelus. I wouldn't be surprised if you all were the only humans left on this planet, that Fang and Vanille were the only Pulsians left."

"Hey, don't say  _that!_ " Shu protested. "What did I say about being negative, mister?"

"We were able to build our village on land  _cleared_  by fal'Cie," Fang pointed out. "We lived alongside them, just like you do on Cocoon."

"Oh  _yeah_ , this is  _just_  like Cocoon!" Sazh exclaimed.

"In a world  _this_  big, who knows what we'll find?" Lightning mused, crossing her arms.

"Pulse is just a little  _different_  from Cocoon," Sai said. "The fal'Cie on Cocoon may be a little less hostile, but they're still not shy with the whole branding thing. Look what happened Dajh and Raines. Good people who had nothing to do with any of this, branding without choice. The only difference between Pulse fal'Cie and Cocoon fal'Cie is that Pulse fal'Cie don't  _pretend_  to be benevolent. If all the Cocoon fal'Cie have the goal of raising our population just to destroy us all in the end, then they're no different than Pulse fal'Cie - hell, they're even worse."

Snow clapped him on the back. "Someone got an A on his essay."

Sai crossed his arms. "Call me philosophical, but there's a lot to learn from coming here - a place where we know nothing, where it's so different but similar."

"Come on!" Vanille giggled. "Let's go!"

They headed across the wide, open area, facing off with some Cryohedrons and Pulsework Centurions - which were the same story as the other machines of its kind. It wasn't a quick process at first, but then they staggered it, immobilized it, and let loose.

"I'm glad I'm not here alone," Vanille said, taking Hope's hand nervously. "This place is  _creepy_."

Hope blinked in surprise but didn't object. "Let's stay calm and do this."

They encountered some Rust Pudding, flan that nearly completely blended in with the dirt and rock of the tunnels. There wasn't much special about them; they were pretty much the same as any other flan the group had come across.

They marched onward to a large bridge, still in good shape for being unused for so many years.

"Does anyone else feel that?" Shu asked.

There was a slight rumble in the ground, and it became stronger and stronger until the others had to brace themselves from the vibrations that shook the earth.

"Uh, guys?" Snow announced casually. "Heads up!"

A giant sphere with flaming red spikes going around its prime meridian came tumbling through the tunnels, passing right underneath the bridge they were standing on and then barreling off into the distance, leaving as fast as it came.

"Whoa!  _Look_  at that thing!" Snow exclaimed.

"Let me guess," Sazh said, scratching his head. "That's a fal'Cie?"

"That's Atomos," Charon confirmed.

"Busy carving out new tunnels," Vanille agreed.

"Making roads where roads ain't meant to go, huh?" Snow clarified. "Hehe, kinda sounds like us." He pumped a fist. "All right! Roly-poly! Let's hitch a ride on that thing!"

"Now you're thinking Gran Pulse style!" Vanille agreed.

"Is that even possible?" Sai asked. "How are we supposed to stop it?"

"I could try and talk to him," Shu said.

Charon punched his fist into his palm. "I can get you an interview."

"We'll need to find a better place to board it," Lightning announced. "We should keep moving."

They headed forward, Atomos rumbling in the background as the fal'Cie went around and around, back and forth, not always in the same direction. They found a couple Cie'th Stones, including a Waystone that could teleport them back should they need it if they beat an upgraded version of the Boxed Phalanx - the Ambling Bellows. They let Charon handle that. To leave the area, a regular Boxed Phalanx guarded the exit bridge along with three Hoplites. They used a similar strategy from before, finishing them off no problem, and then made quick work of the Rust Pudding behind them. After that, it was a pretty leisurely stroll forward.

They came out of the tunnels into a sunny area out of the rocky tunnels. They appeared to be on a terrace between tunnels, jutting out from a tall cliff. There were the remnants of a fence, left there probably because it was a long fall if someone slipped over the edge. It looked as though they were standing between mountains, a valley in the distance as the towering rocks went on. Large plants grew high, giant weeds as tall as trees should've been reaching up to the sky.

She spread their arms and took a deep breath. "Ah, sunlight! How I've missed you! Look at all my happy plants! They love it here!"

"This place is  _gorgeous_ ," Vanille exhaled.

"Why don't we relax here for a while?" Hope suggested.

"It beats the dark damp caves back there," Sazh agreed.

Shu sat down on the grass and he others spread out for some relaxation time. Shu noticed Charon sitting down slowly at the edge, dangling his legs over the side. Shu took the opportunity to move closer and scoot next to him.

"Charon? You okay?"

He sighed. "In all honesty, I'm not sure."

Shu noticed that he was trying to avoid eye contact and looked down into the gloom below. "You haven't really had time to  _process_  everything. You won't  _let_  yourself process anything."

"Shu I…I don't…I can't do this right now, okay? I just…" He buried his head in his hands and took a deep breath. "I just need some space."

"I wanna  _help_  you get through this, Charon. We both need someone to lean on right now."

He shook his head. "I need to do this myself. I just don't think…I can't  _do_  this, Shu." He motioned between the two of them. "I can't do  _this_. This thing between us."

Shu frowned and looked up at him. "Well  _fine_. You can be a loner all you want, but you'll find it's not gonna help you.  _I_  for one want someone that I can be with, who I can help and who can help me. I want it to be  _you_ , you big lug, but until you work out these issues or whatever, I'll be over there with Sai."

Shu stood and stomped off to Sai, collapsing beside him.

"Stupid Charon."

"He still confused with himself?"

"Yes! I'm so mad I could  _slap_  him! But I don't because that would be mean. I just miss hugging him and kissing him and loving him in general! Why can't we go back to being like that?"

Sai shrugged. "It takes time to figure out your feelings. He doesn't wanna feel like he's leaning on you for everything after all that he's done to you. He just wants to fight his demons, but until he does, he's worried that he's just going to make things worse between the two of you."

"He should know better than that," Shu sulked.

"He can't take the risk. He's just not in the right mind to do so."

Shu flopped against Sai, leaning on him with a sigh. "You're not cuddly."

"I am  _very_  cuddly, thank you very much."

"Not at cuddly as Charon."

"That's in your opinion."

"He is  _very_  cuddly, I assure you. You should try cuddling him sometime. You'll see."

"Uh, no thanks. I'll leave that job to you."

"Good answer."

Vanille and Fang, meanwhile, headed farther across the terrace together before Vanille notice some of the flora and exclaimed with delight, giggling as she ran over and knelt down. "These flowers! You remember them, right?"

"Yeah, sure I do," Fang smiled, walking past. "They grew all  _over_  Oerba."

Vanille stood and skipped after her. "We can't be far now."

They walked further, Vanille humming to herself with a giggle, before Fang suddenly halted. "It's  _my_  fault Gran Pulse ended up like this, isn't it?"

Vanille's eyes widened. "Wha-?"

"I remember everything," Fang declared. " _I_  became Ragnarok;  _I_  scarred Cocoon. And  _I_  left Gran Pulse in this mess. It was me."

Vanille shifted on her feet nervously. "What are you  _talking_  about?"

"It all came back to me. Everything that happened with our Focus.  _All_  of it."

"You're lying!" Vanille said hesitantly.

With Fang's back still turned towards her, Vanille's brand flashed at her leg. She put her hand to it as it began to glow and hum with a red energy.

"No, it's the truth," Fang continued. "It's all  _my_  fault."

"Don't  _say_  that!" Vanille snapped.

Her brand flared red hot with a symbol and she winced, holding both of her hands over it as energy gathered before it all snapped free. Fang finally turned to see what was happening, just as Vanille's Eidolon symbol spread on the ground beneath her.

"Vanille!" Fang cried.

It was about the average size of a summoning circle, with a top layer holding still and smaller circles lined up to point out in 8 directions like a compass. The bottom layer spun counter clockwise with arrows pointing outwards, rising up and beginning to float above the first layer, passing through Vanille but pulling something else out from beneath. At one direction, a path seemed to form as though her summoning circle was a giant pendulum. Around her, dozens of little arms sprouted in a circle, rising up as she quickly scurried out of the ring. The body of her Eidolon soon followed, a humanoid creature with four main arms, two pairs of them crossed. At each shoulder and his back, there were three disks sprouting a myriad of little hands, wiggling like worms. The Eidolon glowed with power, the summoning circle fading, almost absorbed into it.

"The  _Eidolon_  knows the truth," Fang spat, her lance already drawn. "Ha! I  _knew_  I was right!"

"Wait, so you  _were_  lying?"

"No more than  _you_  were. Admit it! You remember  _everything!_ "

"It wasn't! It  _wasn't_  your fault!"

"Vanille?" Fang spun her lance. "We should talk about this  _later!_ "

Vanille looked up to her Eidolon, Hecatoncheir, and drew her rod.

She was instantly hit with Doom before Hecatoncheir activated Looming Wrath, preparing to attack anyone that came close. Fang was the physical attacker out of the two, testing out Ruin spells and attacking alike, while Vanille went in with Ravager spells and then started to think strategically with her Saboteur debuffs, successfully getting Deprotect to hit. Unfortunately, the Eidolon cast a Quake spell that shook the earth, sending dust flying and disorienting the pair. Immediately after, before the dust had even settled, Hecatoncheir cast another Quake spell to strike them again, before then using Force Projection, kneeling to stab its many arms into the ground before they shot out from underneath Vanille. She was sent flying into the air from the attack, nearly passing out from the damage.

Fang went Sentinel and defended while Vanille picked herself up and threw out a round of Cure spells first for herself and then for Fang. When Hecatoncheir came back in, he opted for physical attacks this time, first using Pummel. He turned from side to side, shooting out his extra arms at supernatural speeds, right then left, at Fang. He then jumped up to spin in the air with an Aerial Tackle, coming down with enough force to send spikes of rock shooting up at Fang. Her defensive stance allowed her to keep her position, but then Hecatoncheir did a Hurricane Kick to knock both of them back as well as shattering the wall of rock spikes he'd created with his Aerial kick. Hecatoncheir was fast, giving them little time for recovery before he was casting Quake again and using Force Projection on Fang.

Vanille used Cura to heal them both, adding a couple Cures for Fang to get her back up to strength before they both started casting spells as Saboteurs. Hecatoncheir went into his Looming Wrath stance, giving them a bit of a grace period to attack, before the Eidolon returned to attack mode, using Pummel, Aerial Tackle, Hurricane Kick, Pummel, Hurricane Kick, Force Projection, and then he jumped up and back with Counter, causing a barrage of rock spikes to shoot out at Fang - who had already switched to Sentinel and was blocking the barrage with all she had - which subsequently exploded and disappeared. Vanille was healing her as fast as she could, finally given a moment of rest with Looming Wrath.

Fang took this opportunity to throw out her Saboteur spells while Vanille finished up her healing and joined her. When Hecatoncheir returned to attack mode, he gave Fang one Pummel before switching targets to Vanille. She switched to be a Medic in preparation while Fang attempted to draw the attack again as a Sentinel with Challenge. But Hecatoncheir had already begun. Pummel, Aerial Tackle, Hurricane Kick, Force Projection, Pummel, Hurricane Kick.

She was knocked out on the Hurricane Kick.

"Vanille!" Shu shouted.

They ran over, throwing an Arise spell to revive Vanille at full health.

"Your Doom counter is a 500! Hurry!"

Fang finally drew the attention off of Vanille and got Hecatoncheir's Pummel and then a Counter. Vanille got Deshell and Imperil to hit with her Saboteur spells while also healing Fang from the damage taken.

"Go! Go!" Shu called.

Fang, having tried to expand her skillset, started casting a Fire spell as a Ravager. She only knew the one spell, but it was enough to start pushing Hecatoncheir over the edge.

Vanille held her hand forward as a spark of magic flashed in front of her. "I…gotcha!"

She raised her hand up into the air as the spark flickered. Hecatoncheir reared up, his numerous arms whirring around in their respective rings, kicking up a storm of dirt as electricity sparked down the lengths. The arms fused together into giant Gatling guns, Hecatoncheir's body bent forward and his legs reversed their joints so that he resembled a four-legged creature with his arms becoming his front legs. His torso flipped out another gun from behind while the final wheel of arms that had once been at his back became the fourth. His initial four arms that had once been crossed in challenge turned into four blasters at the front, the two large Gatling guns clunking together before facing forward, two smaller ones facing backwards. As the storm of dust cleared, it revealed a Magitek armor war machine. Vanille pumped a fist and jumped aboard, the Gatling guns rising in preparation.

Shu sighed in relief as Vanille hopped off her new ride and waved Hecatoncheir goodbye as he disappeared. Shu looked back to the others, blissfully unaware of the confrontation that had just happened. They saw Sai talking to Charon and narrowed their eyes. What were they talking about?

Shu snuck over all sneakily to find out.

Meanwhile Vanille and Fang finally had the conversation that Vanille had been trying to avoid all this time.

"I knew  _something_  was off," Fang said. "You've been shying away from our Focus  _ever_  since we woke up on Cocoon."

Vanille clasped her hands together in front of her. "I…"

"I  _couldn't_  figure it out," Fang continued. "But  _then_  it all made since, after hearing that story from Shu and Raines. You already knew." She pumped a fist into her hand. "You  _knew_  Ragnarok was the name of  _destruction_."

Vanille looked up. "It wasn't  _fair!_  You had to all the  _horrible_  stuff, and I didn't have to do anythi-"

Fang reeled on her. "That is  _no_  reason to  _lie_  to me! You think  _that's_  what I  _want?!_ " Fang's hand balled into a fist. "You of  _all_  people!"

Vanille gasped and lowered her head, bracing for impact. But instead of a blow, she simply felt Fang tap her head gently. She looked up in surprise to see the rage in Fang's eyes gone.

"Poor kid. You've had it rough."

"Fang…"

Fang sighed and took her by the shoulders. "Listen, you're  _not_  alone anymore."

Vanille's voice broke as tears began falling down her face. "I'm so sorry…"

Fang pulled her into a hug. "Keep that up and you'll have  _me_  crying soon." She had no anger in her voice, simply letting Vanille cry on her shoulder. "We have a new family now. We stick together, you hear me?"

Vanille nodded, unable to form the words. But Fang knew. Vanille had only wanted to protect her. Fang was always the stronger of the two, and Vanille was tired of being useless while Fang faced all the horrors of their lives combined. Vanille was guilty, she felt useless, and she only wanted to save her friend more misery. But her lies caught up with her, they always did.

But now that the truth had finally come out, she learned that Fang wasn't angry. Fang understood that she'd been through a lot, and that she was bottling everything up and that she needed to know that she wasn't alone with her secrets anymore. They had a family again, and there would be no more secrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may consider adding in those cutscenes from above from the missions that I skipped before, but I just wanna move forward with the story for now.
> 
> Also, boom, two Eidolons in one chapter.


	36. To Taejin's Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lightning moved quickly. She lowered the crystal, reared back and flicked her gunblade out to slice right through the pollen, knocking Snow off his feet in his surprise.
> 
> "Hey!" He protested, swiping the pollen particles out of his face.
> 
> "Once we're home, what's your plan?" Lightning asked. "You're getting married, right?"
> 
> Snow did a double take. Did he hear that right? "What's that?"
> 
> Lightning flicked her gunblade back into gun mode and held up the tear. "Serah wants to know," she explained casually.
> 
> Snow chuckled. "Don't scare me like that."
> 
> "You are getting married, aren't you? Don't you let her down, you hear me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so long, but I finally got to the part that I've been planning since the beginning and I was excited. Things have been depressing and they're gonna get a little worse before they get better. But they'll get better, I promise.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> :)

"You  _do_  realize that Shu's upset about this, right?" Sai demanded.

"I'm not in the mood for a  _lecture_ ," Charon said.

"It's not a lecture, it's just advice. Whatever you're so afraid of, staying away from Shu isn't fighting it. You're running away. Trust me, it'll be easier to have someone to talk to."

"Sai, you don't understand."

"Maybe not, but I understand this: I wanted to be a loner all my life, I thought it was easier that way, and I was right. It's a lot harder having people you care about, but it's also so much  _better_. You aren't alone in this, you know. The others don't have to know about anything, you don't even have to tell  _me_ , but at least tell Shu. You owe them that much."

His eyes darkened, fogged up with a blank sadness. "I can't. I just…that's not how it works…it's not that simple. I…I can't share anything because I don't know myself. What am I supposed to do if I'm unsure of my own feelings?"

"You ask  _Shu_  to help you sort them out. They'll be by you no matter what."

Charon sighed. "I just don't know, Sai. I need a little more time to sort out my feelings."

Sai frowned. "Now I see why Shu was so upset…you are  _really_  frustrating."

"I'm pretty confused, but I  _do_  know that I need to work this out by myself."

"I get that, but you should at least give Shu some hope here."

"You're enough for them now, right?"

Sai smiled. "You  _seriously_  still believe we have a chance together? Nah. Shu's more like a sibling. Someone that I've grown fond of, that I only want the best for, and someone that I'm hoping gets a happy ending with you. They love you more than anything, and I know that you are breaking them slowly by doing this."

"I'll sort it out, somehow."

"As a guy who just lost his opportunity to do all that I wanted to with Rei, who lost the chance to fight the future with someone I loved, I say, do everything you can with Shu. Don't waste another moment."

Charon gripped his hand in his lap. "I'm sorry."

Sai noticed that his fist was trembling. Sai took Charon's hand. "Still not over it?"

"It…it happens sometimes still. It won't go away. It makes my entire body tense and…sometimes it starts to sting. When it gets really bad I…I can't think straight, I get angry if it means making it stop,  _distracting_ myself, and then when it's over, I'm just…tired. I constantly feel like I'm either on edge, ready to give in by unable to for some reason."

"So  _that's_  why you can't decide? Cuz of  _this?_ "

He held up Charon's hand.

Charon pulled his had free and gripped it tighter. "Partially, I guess. Or maybe I'm just afraid of making a mistake again."

" _This_  is a mistake, shutting them out like this. Whatever the flip you do while you're together? That's nothing compared to doing this apart."

"I'm drowning, Sai. I need to find a way to break the surface before I can breathe again, and I need to breathe if I want to start swimming to safety. I need to find land before I can rest, and even when I do, it's gonna make me feel like I'm gonna die from exhaustion by then."

"Where's this metaphor going?"

"There is so much that I need to work through right now, and no matter what I do, I know that it's gonna be painful either way. I guess I'm just afraid of starting down a path, whatever it is, because it's gonna hurt so much."

Sai sighed. "Saitama."

Charon looked up. "What?"

"Saitama. It's my full name. Even Rei never knew it. Never got the chance to tell her. I never use it cuz I never liked it."

"So why tell me now?"

He shrugged. "Wanted an ice-breaker. You're really cold, ya know that?"

Charon blinked. "Huh?"

Sai laughed.

"What? What did I do?"

"Nothing," Sai chuckled.

Charon frowned. "You and Shu both, just laughing for no apparent reason."

"We laugh because it's fun, because it makes the darkness feel a bit farther away. You should try it sometime."

"I laugh. Ask Shu, I do it plenty."

"They  _are_  cute, ya know that? There just something about them that's adorable. Like a puppy."

"Like a  _kitten_ ," Charon corrected. "Shu seems more like a cat person."

Sai shook his head. "Cats are condescending and quiet and lazy. Shu is like a puppy, full of energy and speaking all the time and I can just  _see_  the wiggling of a tail when they get excited."

"You've clearly never seen a cat when it gets a toy. Besides, Shu is a lion, and lions are cats, and when  _they_ get excited, they play with their prey and they jump around wildly and they're fast and agile. Shu is like that, always playing around."

"Well me and cats have an agreement to disagree, so I guess that's a confirmed fact that makes the two of us incompatible. But that hair is cool though."

Charon chuckled. "It's got a mind of its own. And it's soft too. They treasure it, you know?"

"They've started to neglect it recently. Too worried about you."

Charon looked hurt, opening his mouth to say something before he stopped.

Sai smiled. "See? There it is."

"There  _what_  is?"

"There's that look, that feeling. All those doubts and hesitation that you had went away for a second and you were ready to jump into the fray, no matter what it took, to fix that little thing because it mattered so much to Shu, because that was a  _part_  of them, one that shouldn't be changed, and because it mattered so much to you by extension. You just need to focus on that feeling to get past this, okay?"

Charon nodded. "I suppose I understand."

Charon looked to the side with his eyes and then sat forward. "We're being watched."

Sai cocked his head to the side. "Hm?"

"Have you ever heard the story of the first time Shu and I slept together?"

Sai felt the blood rush to his face. "W-What-?"

There was a crashing sound and they turned to see Shu falling out of a large group of bushes. They took a significant tumble before they flipped back to an upright position and stood at attention in almost a comical manner.

"Oh, hi Sai," They said. "Didn't see ya there. What's up?"

Sai laughed. "Oh, nothing much. Just talking to Charon."

Shu nodded quickly. "Right, right. Hey! Look! It's time to go now!"

Shu rushed off to the entrance of the tunnels, but the wrong one that led to back where they came from.

"Shu!" Charon called.

Shu instantly switched to run back the way they came and to the path leading forward.

"Time to go!" They announced, the others all looking in their direction in confusion.

"What's up?" Snow asked.

"Shu's eager to get going," Charon said.

"Eager to get past the tunnels," Sai reasoned.

"Guess we're going now," Lightning submitted. "Everyone move out!"

Sazh sighed and rose to his feet. "That was a short break."

"Let's go," Hope said.

Sai stood. "Just make an effort, all right? You'd be surprised how nice it is once you get past all the hard stuff, but you gotta take that leap. Things are gonna get worse before they get better, but once they get better, I think you two will work it out."

Charon nodded. "I…I hope so."

* * *

They headed back into the tunnels, hopping over scrap metal and fighting some Rust Pudding and Pulsework Centurions. The two species were fighting each other, but the moment they saw the group, it seemed they were best buds trying to kill the l'Cie and fal'Cie. They made their way through, past some Cryohedrons and the rest. It was pretty routine, but Shu seemed anxious from all the underground stuff.

"It's like the darkness is eating my soul!" They exclaimed. "If I had a soul."

"It seems to  _me_  like you have a soul," Sai said.

"Nah, fal'Cie aren't supposed to have souls. I'm just very good at acting like it."

The group entered a large open room with a big bridge and they could see that another Juggernaut had activated in the distance. Luckily it was on an elevated platform, unable to get down or even sense their presence, and it wasn't barring their path so they could easily sneak past it.

"You think we could find a deactivated one?" Hope asked. "Maybe we could take control of it."

"Hope, don't even think about it," Lightning warned.

Atomos rumbled beneath the bridge, whirring past and almost making the place seem like it was active and alive. But despite all the machinery, there were no humans in sight.

"You think he's trying to lead us somewhere?" Sai wondered.

"Maybe there's a platform where he can specifically stop," Shu guessed.

They continued down the tunnels, using the lights to guide their way forward.

"How do any of these have power still?" Hope wondered.

"Self-sustaining," Charon explained. "The machines are active, doing the works and their job, and some of the machines have the job of simply powering generators, doing repairs if something breaks down. The machines have routines where they're on guard duty and then go to recharge their batteries, switching out in shifts, and if some of them get damaged, there are more in the works. Considering the number of machines we've faced, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a factory producing more machines down here for an infinite supply."

They reached another larger and open area. Across the way, Juggernauts could be seen roaming around, whirring and taking their small steps as they seemed to search for anything to do.

"Gotta be getting close, huh?" Vanille asked.

The others walked down a ramp to continue forward, but Hope got slightly distracted. Up above, he spotted just what he had wanted - a shutdown Juggernaut that seemed to be in good shape. He snuck away as the others followed the main path, climbing up.

Sai noticed Hope running off, looking to the others before following. He climbed up a platform to see that Hope was messing with the wires beneath the machine. Sai himself was curious to figure out how a Juggernaut worked and to get a good look at one when it wasn't trying to kill, so he started climbing the bot and motioned for Hope to follow.

"Circuits seem to be in good conditions, all things considered," Sai said. "Now, where do you think the 'On' button is?"

The others came to a dead end where it seemed a bridge had once been, but it had been destroyed - either by time or by Atomos. Beyond, however, it seemed that there weren't any more tunnels.

"No way through," Sazh declared. "Man, that fal'Cie must've been slacking."

"You mean we're  _stuck_  down here?!" Shu exclaimed.

"We can always go back the way we came," Charon suggested.

"But that's  _so_  far! I don't think I'll make it! I need sunlight.  _Now!_  I needs da sun wright now!"

They all jumped at the sudden sound of Hope screaming. It seemed he'd found the 'On' button. The Juggernaut whirred to life, its lights glowing and its parts spinning, but it started walking forward without any intent to stop - and it was walking right towards the edge of the platform.

" _Wait!_  Stop already!"

"Where is the  _steering?!_ " Sai exclaimed.

Lightning sighed heavily with a hand on her hip. "Ugh, it's the Vile Peaks all over again."

Sazh scratched the back of his head nervously. "Do you think we should-? Hey, hey!"

The Juggernaut plunged down off the platform. The Juggernaut seemed to have incredible stability as it landed almost gracefully with its arms out for balance. Hope and Sai went flying off, hitting the dirt. Though they were a bit winded, they were mostly unharmed.

Lightning ran up to the edge. "Hope! Get out of there!"

"Sai, move!" Shu shouted.

There was a rumbling in the distance as Atomos came around the corner. Shu jumped down and grabbed the two by their waists.

"Hold on tight!"

They jumped up and started to hover back up to the platform, but a moment later Shu coughed and started wheezing, losing altitude rather than gaining it.

"Not good…"

The three of them fell back down, Shu releasing the two as they started to hyperventilate.

"Shu, what's wrong?!" Sai exclaimed.

"I need…I need the sun…" They started to look around, feeling very claustrophobic. "It's too dark and dry and scary!"

Atomos approached, digging through the earth and coming straight for them. Hope got to his feet, looking for a way out, but they were in a valley that was too deep for any of them to escape - especially with Atomos so close. Sai grabbed his sword and took up a defensive stance, holding up his blades and bracing for impact.

Shu grabbed their sword and stepped forward, planting it into the dirt. "Get behind me!"

"You're weakened!" Sai protested.

"I'm still a fal'Cie! He won't be able to kill me. All I have to do is hold my ground!"

Atomos smashed into them. Shu avoided the large spikes and collided with the body of the giant sphere that was the fal'Cie. They were all pushed back, Shu's feet digging into the ground. They finally brought the metal machine to a stop, but their arms were shaking and they were still being pushed back inch by inch.

"I… _won't_ …lose…someone…else…" Shu sobbed.

They released the full weight of their true form and finally came to a stop, but Atomos was still pushing, whirring forward with a destructive force.

In a flash, Charon was there, hovering above Shu with his Kozuka out for a Warp-Strike. He pushed forward against Atomos and the large machine actually reversed direction. Shu fell back, breathing hard and with their limbs feeling like jelly.

"Atomos, this ends now!"

A Juggernaut jumped down into the valley and lumbered past Shu, throwing its arms forward and then holding Atomos back. Its hands sparked, but the large machine - which looked puny compared to the fal'Cie - held its ground. Charon whistled and more Juggernauts started jumping down, careful to avoid Hope, Sai, and Shu. A few took positions against Atomos itself before others put their arms up to support those in front of them. Nearly a dozen in all joined the fray, locking together in an immovable wall of metal.

Charon raised his hand and smashed it down on the body of Atomos, a pulse of energy flowing across him, and the wheel began to slow, the entire thing coming to a stop within moments.

"Well  _that_  was cool," Snow muttered. "Go robot guys."

"Good lesson for us," Sazh nodded. "Not even a mighty fal'Cie like that is a match for the power of teamwork.  _That_  is inspiration right there."

"Save the sermons, old man," Fang said. "Let's hop on Trailblazer here, while we still have the chance."

Charon flew Sai and Hope back up to the platform and then went back for Shu.

"That was reckless, love."

"Love?" Shu asked hopefully.

Charon winced. "Force of habit."

Shu kissed him on the cheek. "You can be guilty all you want, but I'll be here when you change your mind about us."

Charon tensed and sped their flight, dropping Shu gently before flying over to Atomos. "I'll go plot our course," He told the others.

He put his hand on the metal shell and a door opened. He flew inside to speak with Atomos, telling him the location they were going to and a good place to drop them off. Shu would be happy with the location, that was for sure.

"All set!" He announced.

"Let's go!" Hope said, being the first to step forward and hop into the fal'Cie's cabin.

The others followed and the door closed behind them.

"Ready Atomos!" Charon called.

The fal'Cie kicked into high gear, its spikes beginning to spin once more and it surged forward. The cabin shook and they felt as they began barreled forward, down the rocky paths. Of course, the ride wasn't exactly smooth, as Atomos didn't follow the exact same path every time. In fact, the fal'Cie seemed to find pleasure in smashing into the walls if they were in his way.

"How does this thing see where it's going?!" Snow exclaimed.

"It's a fal'Cie," Charon said smiling. "It just knows."

They waited out a short ride before Atomos suddenly jolted and they were all nearly knocked off their feet from the sudden stop.

"We're here."

Charon waved open the door and everyone poured out. The found themselves in a very different place, sunlight pouring through rock structures and the smell of water heavy in the air. Plants and moss could be seen growing on the ground, and a stream of water could be heard in the distance.

"The Sulyya Springs!" Shu exclaimed.

"Taejin's Tower is just beyond these springs," Charon announced. "Atomos saved us at least a day's worth of travel. He can't get us any closer because this is Bismarck's territory."

"Bismarck?" Sai asked.

"The fal'Cie of the waters," Shu explained.

"Atomos searching for a path to the Unseen Realm underground, while Bismarck searches for it in the sea," Charon elaborated.

"It's awesome! Rei and I came here all the time. Check out the bioluminescent plants! My people!"

Shu skilled forward and the others followed down a rocky corridor. It was much nicer and more lively than the Mah'habara, glowing green plants scattered about in patches. When they came out on the other side, they saw waterfalls falling from above into a large cavern. The rock formations weren't even, leaving holes for the sun to come through from above and from the sides.

Almost as if purposefully, there was a large opening that connected the springs out to sea that went all the way up to the roof of the cavern, and Cocoon could be seen floating in the sky right beside a waterfall. The tall and wild plants of Cocoon could be seen scattered about, looking like they wished to reach up to meet the floating planet.

Shu kneeled at a bundle of plants. "Look at  _you!_  You've grown up, haven't you?! And who is  _this?_  Aw, aren't you adorable!"

They went over to the edge of the water and waved. "HI BISMARCK!"

There was a rumbling as a giant whale-like fal'Cie surface and spouted a blast of water up into the air.

"That's Bismarck," Shu said redundantly.

"There's a Waystone over that way," Charon said, pointing back the way they came. "Anyone wanna volunteer to activate it?"

The group split off around the springs to complete the quest.

Snow stayed behind on his own, holding up his crystal tear to look at his home through its shimmering surface.

Vanille slowly approached him. "Whatcha doin'?"

He seemed to be pulled out of a daze, lowering his arm with the crystal. "I was, uh…I was talking to Serah. Just telling her that…we're all gonna be okay."

He held out his fist with the glowing crystal tear to Vanille. She stepped forward and held out her hands as Snow dropped it in her palms. She took the tear in her fingers and walked forward, raising it as Snow had before so that she was staring through the crystal to see Cocoon beyond.

"It's so pretty," She said quietly.

_Serah…you'd been crying, hadn't you? Back when we first met?_

* * *

**_Day 9_ **

**_The Seaside City of Bodhum_ **

* * *

_This place was beautiful, and my Focus was to destroy it. I decided to do nothing and wait to become a Cie'th. But because I did nothing, others got dragged into this nightmare. And I was the one to blame_.

Vanille skipped happily across the beach of Bodhum with Serah walking beside her. Serah sat down in the sand while Vanille looked around in awe at the beauty of a sunset there.

"How's the scrape?" Serah called.

Vanille had met Serah after she had been separated from Fang at Euride Gorge. Though Serah thought it was their first encounter, in reality, Vanille knew who she was - the innocent girl who had wandered into the Bodhum Vestige only to be turned into a l'Cie, a replacement for the Gran Pulsians who had seemingly abandoned their Focus.

Vanille had found that Bodhum was a nice place, and she wasn't going to destroy it or all the people within it. Serah was a kind person who helped her when she found Vanille, lost and alone. The two had become fast friends, and Vanille couldn't even imagine letting this world be destroyed.

"Huh?" Vanille asked before nodding. "Fine.  _Much_  better - thanks to  _you_." Vanille moved to plop down next to Serah with a content sigh. "Oh, sure you don't mind? I mean, I'm not  _keeping_  you from anything, am I?"

Serah smiled and looked off to the colorful sunset. "Not at all. Don't worry. I could sit here for  _hours_."

They listened to the gentle sound of the waves, the sky above yellow, orange, red, then purple.

"Hey, Serah?" Vanille asked. "Do you think we'll meet again?"

Serah looked down with a sad smile. "We  _might_. Sure."

Vanille stood and stretched before stepping forward, keeping her motions light. "See, the thing  _is_ …I was  _chasing_  after someone." She put her arm up to block the bright sun. "And…there's something I really need to apologize for." She dropped her arm and her head, shuffling nervously. "But I just…I just can't ever find the words."

"Gee, that's gotta be tough, huh?"

"Yes. I even have nightmares about it."

Serah took a deep breath and sighed. "Well…if it's too much to deal with, face it later."

Vanille turned in surprise. " _Really?_ "

Serah chuckled. "Sometimes things seem easier when you look at them from a  _distance_ , you know?"

"But…does that really  _work?_ "

Serah looked to the side with a skeptical look, rising to her feet and wiping off the sand from her skirt. "Good question. I'll let you know," She said with a sad smile. She slowly paced towards the water's edge. "Actually…I've been trying to keep something at a distance  _myself_  lately."

"Like what?" Vanille asked reluctantly, already guessing the answer.

Serah looked down. "Don't laugh, okay? It's a dream I had. A  _bad_  one. I dreamt I destroyed the world. It was  _terrifying_. I needed some time alone. It had me so scared…I tried to run away."

Vanille's hand went to her mouth in horror behind Serah - horror at what she'd done, horror at what Serah was facing.

Serah kicked the water and turned back to Vanille, smiling. "But then…my boyfriend, he came chasing after me." She dropped her head and ran her fingers through her hair with a little embarrassment. "That's when I understood. Running away, and leaving behind the people you care about?" She shook her head firmly. "That isn't  _love_. Although you might just wanna keep them  _safe_ , shutting them  _out_  of your life only hurts them  _more_." Serah turned to Vanille again confidently. "The point is, I have people I can  _count_  on. I'll make it through."

Vanille stepped forward with a spring in her step. " _I_  think you'll be  _fine_."

"And  _you_  will be too." She held out her hand. "You'll find the words. I'm  _sure_  of it."

Vanille reached out to take her hand but stepped closer to put her hand over the bandage that hid Serah's Pulse l'Cie brand. "I'm sorry!" She fell to her knees in front of Serah. "I'm  _so_  sorry…!" She looked up at Serah desperately. "What else can I say?"

Serah chuckled lightly, putting a hand on Vanille's head. "I'm not the one you should be asking, Vanille. You'll know what to say when you find your friend. You'll see."

Rei watched the encounter from afar with a sad smile. These two had no idea what was in store for them. None of them did. Even she herself didn't know the future.

"Rei!" Sai called.

She turned with a smile. "Hey."

"Wanna get going?"

She nodded. "Sure."

She hurried over to him, a fuzzy sheep in her arms. Sai said that she had to give it to a zoo. A zoo was apparently where humans went to interact with animals, and the zoo people would take good care of the sheep. She didn't understand why they couldn't keep him, but apparently, Sai didn't have the right stuff to properly feed the sheep and he worried about what it would do while he was away. They'd get to visit him in the future though, and maybe once they'd settled in a bit, they could take him back.

"Where did you find him again?" Sai asked.

"He was there," She shrugged. "Weren't you, little guy?"

The fuzzy sheep made a small noise of approval.

"He likes you."

Sai chuckled. "Well I like you too, but you have to go to the zoo now."

"I love pets. We should get some pets."

"An idea for the future. We could have a cozy little house with a big backyard for our pets to roam around in."

"We should get a chocobo!"

The sheep in her arms protested.

"Along with you, of course," She added.

"Or a dog. Dogs are cool. Cats, no. Cats are evil."

"Not  _evil_. Someone important to me is a cat fal'Cie - well, a lion. They're adorable, you ought to meet them."

"Well Cocoon cats must not be like Pulse ones."

"That's true. Could be the case."

The two continued to talk of a future they would have together, a future they hoped for more than anything, and a future they still thought they had a shot of having. It would only be a few more days before that future was nothing but a memory, dissolving into the air like smoke.

* * *

"You mean you  _met_  Serah?" Snow clarified.

Vanille nodded. "I tried to hide our Focus, and she ended up a l'Cie. I wanted to say I was sorry, but…"

"Well, when we  _rescue_  her, maybe you'll get the chance."

Vanille turned to him with a gentle nod. "Yeah. I hope so."

Snow walked deeper into the springs where the others had met up after a successful hunting of some Uridimmu wolves. "Come on."

"I think  _Serah_  saw the  _same_  vision of Ragnarok that  _we_  did," Vanille called. "Which means, Dysley had to be  _lying_  when he explained her Focus.  _I_  think she  _beat_  it. She handed Cocoon over to us, and  _that's_  what made her turn to crystal!"

Snow paused before walking forward again. Without looking back, he called, "Yep! I know."

Vanille hurried to catch up to the others. Shu was enjoying the springs and waterfalls, the small rainbows being made from the mist created, and couldn't stop gushing about how much they missed this place and how beautiful it was.

Charon was trying to stand back and stay out of it, mostly because he needed to resist the urge to laugh and hug Shu when they acted like that. That wasn't something that they'd be doing.

There were Ceratoraptors and Ceratosaurs all around the springs, along with Orobon sahagins - all very hard hitters. The Ceratoraptors could summon more Ceratosaurs, while Orobons had a Water attack that could cause Slow or Daze and a Power Spritz move that bestowed Haste, Shell, Veil, and Vigilance. Of course, it was nothing they couldn't handle, moving past the springs quickly.

"Aw…" Shu complained. "I could stay here  _forever_."

"We know," Charon drawled. "You won't shut up about it."

Shu huffed angrily. "You don't have to be a jerk about it."

"We're near to Taejin's Tower. Let's just get a move on."

Shu scoffed and stomped ahead of him. He followed without a word, not allowing anyone else to say anything. Sai noticed he was holding his trembling hand in a fist.

They came out to another nice location where Cocoon could be seen in the distance and the plants of Pulse grew wild. Wyvern creatures could be seen flying around in the distance, and the sun was beginning to fall in the sky.

Fang looked up to the sky. "Still with us, Cocoon? I wonder what's going on up there."

"Hey, it's getting late," Vanille said. "Let's spread the blankets out here!"

* * *

As the sun hung low in the sky, Snow stood alone on a cliff, standing in a field of grass with pollen from the giant plants floating past in a calm breeze. He held up Serah's crystal tear and looked through it to Cocoon.

Lightning walked up behind him, just coming back from guard duty with her gunblade drawn. "How's Serah?"

Snow lowered his hand. "Same as we left her."

Lightning held her hand out as one of the large pollen particles landed in her hand. It almost seemed to glow in the center, like a gem, but the wind picked it up and blew it apart at her touch.

"Feels… _so_  far away now," Snow said. He chuckled and dropped the crystal tear in Lightning's hand. "Serah says, she wants to talk."

Lightning held the tear between her fingers, looking through to Cocoon up above. The image was reflected so that Cocoon appeared to be upside down. Hanging Edge could be seen, a large scar on Cocoon from the War of Transgression. Where their journey had ultimately begun.

Snow caught one of the large pollen spheres. "She'd probably prefer it if you…skipped the lectures."

Lightning moved quickly. She lowered the crystal, reared back and flicked her gunblade out to slice right through the pollen, knocking Snow off his feet in his surprise.

"Hey!" He protested, swiping the pollen particles out of his face.

"Once we're home, what's your plan?" Lightning asked. "You're getting married, right?"

Snow did a double take. Did he hear that right? "What's that?"

Lightning flicked her gunblade back into gun mode and held up the tear. "Serah wants to know," she explained casually.

Snow chuckled. "Don't scare me like that."

"You  _are_  getting married, aren't you? Don't you let her down, you hear me?"

She tossed the tear up into the air. Snow rose to his feet and caught it. "Don't worry.  _This_  tear will be her  _last_. I'll make  _sure_  of that."

"That's  _all_  I need to know."

She moved to walk past him, and Snow dropped his head. "We  _will_  see her, right?"

He jumped when he felt Lightning's fist at his back, right between his shoulder blades. " _Don't_  go there." She shoved him. " _No_  room for doubt."

"You're right," He sighed.

"We'll see her again. And soon.  _You_  convinced me of that. So  _stay strong_."

She lowered her head behind him and let her tears fall.

"Don't worry. We'll finish this, and go see her together."

Lightning stepped forward and leaned against the back of his shoulder. Together, under the sunset, they prayed for a future where they were both with Serah again. It was an impossible future, but one that they had to hope for with all they had. Maybe, if they worked together, they could make their dream a reality.

Somehow.

* * *

Shu laid in the grass contently, staring at the yellowing sky.

"You look dead," Sai said bluntly.

Shu's face was blank as they held still surrounded by the greenery. "Yeah, well I  _am_. Asushunamir is dead."

"So what's  _your_  name?"

"Tsuchi, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too."

Sai collapsed on the grass beside them. "You figure out a way to make up with Charon?"

Shu sat up in a huff. "That stupid stupid-head! I wanna  _strangle_  him!"

"Come on, Shu. You've just gotta be patient."

"I'm  _tired_  of being patient! He needs a good kick to the head for what he's making me go through all because he's  _insecure_  or something!"

Sai sighed. "True enough. You two were so great before all this happened, and I know that you can be better. He's just too afraid to get in over his head again. All love has given him is pain."

"Maybe because  _he_  keeps on ruining it all himself!"

"Shu, stop it. You know he's going through a lot."

"Well can't he just  _ask_  for  _help?_  Can't he make an effort to  _fix_  his life rather than sulking?"

"He's scared. He needs a push, sure. So figure out a way to push him."

Shu looked over at Charon, who was standing on guard duty, but there wasn't much to do, so he was just leaning against the wall silently. Shu caught him trying to sneak a couple glances their way.

"Push him, huh? What'll get through that  _thick_  skull of his?"

" _You_ ," Sai said. "Your relationship with him affects him most. Kiss him or something, confront him about this. He can't avoid it forever, and I think he really needs your help to figure out what he's so afraid of so that he can fight back. He himself can't see the enemy that's inside of him. He just needs a quiet moment to think, and you are the one who can help him figure this out."

Shu looked over to Charon.

"Fine, I'll make him confront this."

Shu pulled Sai into a kiss that took him by surprise. Sai had never kissed anyone before, but Shu was being gentle with him knowing that. When Shu pulled back, they smiled.

"Let's just say that was from Rei."

He blinked. "Uh…sure."

Shu looked over to where Charon had been, but he was gone. "There. I hope that hurt him enough to do something about it."

Shu stood and stomped off through the fields of grass. Sai finally process what Shu had done and why. They had done it to spite Charon. Shu wanted to make things better, but Charon still felt that he needed to be punished. So Shu, finally getting fed up, gave him the punishment that he wanted - the idea that Shu was moving on somehow.

Sai and Shu made no sense together, especially considering how well Charon and Shu fit. But Shu wanted Charon to know that they didn't have to stay with him and that if he really cared, he needed to at least  _try_ to meet them halfway.

Sai sighed and collapsed in the grass again. This was a mess.

He didn't want Charon to get the wrong idea, but he was also scared to face the guy now that he knew Charon was probably vying for his murder.

Sai grunted in frustration at his moral compass and stood, going off to where Charon most likely disappeared to.

* * *

Charon couldn't breathe.

His hands were trembling, he felt like something was trying to crawl its way out of him, tearing him apart from the inside. He could barely control his limbs, his hands shaking violently as he clawed at the rocks for balance.

He was crying.

It suddenly seemed to hit him, punch him in the chest. He was falling apart and he didn't know what to do about it. He wanted Shu's help, he needed it, but now he'd lost it for good.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

He should've said it before. He should've done  _something_  before, but he just kept putting it off and pushing it away because he was too scared. He thought he wanted to be alone, but that wasn't  _really_  what he'd wanted. He'd wanted  _peace_. He wanted this constant fear to go away, he wanted a moment to breathe and have someone tell him that it was all going to be okay.

He thought that being alone would do that for him, that he could just take a deep breath on his own and handle it all himself. But all it had done was make him more lonely. It had given him too much time to swirl his thoughts around in his head and make them worse and worse, spiraling into a pit of despair, making him want to retreat even more.

He wanted to take it all back. He wanted to accept Shu's hug and their speech about letting it all out and trusting them. He would've thought that it was stupid, told himself that Shu didn't understand, but they did. They did more than anyone else.

Now he was left feeling shattered, as though every part of him was cracking and parts were chipping away. He wanted to just fade from this world, he wanted to just die.

But he couldn't. He had his orders, ones that sunk into his bones, and they'd have a grip on him as long as he felt anything for Shu. And he'd never be able to get over them, he couldn't just cast his feelings aside, not after everything that's happened. He told himself to just end it, but an invisible string tugged at him and wouldn't allow it.

Come to think of it, why didn't Shu just  _order_  him to get himself together, to confess his feelings, to confide in Shu, love them again like he wants to?

Simple.

Because Shu wanted it to be Charon's choice. They wanted to give Charon a choice when he'd been without one for centuries. Shu probably forgot that they even had the option to use his command word because they weren't used to having control of someone else, they'd never  _want_  to take away someone's free will even if they could. And Shu could with Charon. But they didn't.

He hated Shu for being so perfect. He hated himself for hurting them. He hated that he couldn't make this void of pain go away.

"Charon?"

" ** _GO AWAY!_** "

His voice came out more forceful than he had intended. It also sounded more broken than he had intended.

Sai flinched. "Sorry, I just…I just wanted you to know it meant nothing. Shu just wanted you to face your feelings. I guess they succeeded."

Charon wanted to spit a hundred things at Sai, too many things to count. He wanted to wallow in his misery, he wanted to scream at Sai because it was somehow his fault, he wanted to tell Sai to tell Shu many things from how he was sorry to how he hated them.

"Just…wanted you to know."

Sai retreated.

And Charon tried to pull himself together with a thousand thoughts swirling around in his head. He hated himself. He hated Shu. And yet it was all because he loved so much that it hurt.

* * *

The grass faded away, leaving just a dirt trail with a few weeds. In just a few steps, the path had transformed from an oasis to a desert.

"Back to this," Shu sighed.

They had been avoiding Charon at all costs but doing it very subtly. Shu avoided his gaze, pretended like he wasn't there if he tried to speak, and when they came close to each other, Shu was violent in shoving him away while refusing to acknowledge his presence. Charon had been driven to silence very easily at Shu's rough treatment of him, and Sai was beginning to fear this new dark side of Shu. Charon looked like he'd been punched in the gut, battered emotionally over and over like every second of his existence was burning away at him. He was suffocating, barely on his feet, and Sai had explained the situation to the other l'Cie so that they kept their distance. These two were like ticking time bombs, and if anyone brought up their relationship, whatever it was, the two of them were going to blow up Pulse and Cocoon and all Barthandelus's hard work would've been for nothing.

The group made their way forward with some cactus-like weeds the only plants they passed. When they came out of the valley, they saw an enormous tower in the distance. It was old, falling apart, but the erosion wasn't the worst part. Only the base of the tower stood standing, the rest of it tipped over with the floors bent at bad angles from the force of the fall that had once happened many years ago. The top half of the tower was still connected to the bottom part, creating a bit of a ramp that went off into the distance.

"Taejin's Tower," Shu explained. "Once, it stood tall enough to reach the heavens, but it was  _too_  tall, and so it fell over. We get through there, and we'll be in Oerba."

"You guys are almost home," Snow pointed out.

"Yup!" Vanille agreed.

Wyvern creatures circled the tower, the abandoned building having made itself a home for monsters.

"Doesn't exactly look like it's gonna be a  _leisurely_  stroll," Sazh guessed.

Right in front of them, a giant flying worm-like creature went flying past, scaring the heck out of Sazh who had just been thinking about the nasties in the tower. Lightning, who was beside him, didn't react, but Vanille exclaimed in surprise.

"A fal'Cie!" She announced.

"Oh, so we just head through this  _fal'Cie's lair_  to get to Oerba, right?" Hope clarified.

"That's Dahaka," Shu said. "Fal'Cie of the skies."

"Like Atomos is the earth and Bismarck was the sea?" Hope guessed.

"Yup. He's pretty straightforward, unlike  _some_  fal'Cie. We're not exactly best buds, but at least we talk sometimes and are willing to understand each other no matter how our relationship is."

Charon flinched, gripping his hand tightly behind him. Sai was getting really concerned about Charon at this point. These tremors that he got almost overtook him, and the effort of restraining them almost seemed to make them worse - like trying to contain an explosion and creating a pressure vessel instead. Sai had been in the Guardian Corps; as such, he had been trained to see the signs of shock and panic attacks. This was more serious than Charon had let on, maybe because Charon didn't seem to know about it himself. Panic attacks like the ones Charon were having looked to physically be tearing Charon apart, not just mentally. He was facing physical pain, as though containing an actual explosion that would probably nuke the entire Archylte Steppe if let loose.

Sai pulled Charon back and away from the others. "Deep breaths, focus on me and my voice, pick something to stare at. Big breath in. Do it, idiot,  _now_."

Charon was confused, but though it felt embarrassing, he followed Sai's instructions.

"Exhale. Inhale. Stare at my eyes. Pick a spot in them and don't look away. Exhale. You're listening to my voice, right? Inhale. Imagine a reverse pendulum, it's unsteady, it's about to fall, but then it balances itself. Exhale. You need to right yourself out like that reverse pendulum, all right? Inhale. You're about to tip over the edge, but then you move so that you're balanced once more and you're making those little adjustments so that you don't lose yourself, okay? Exhale."

Charon looked significantly better, and somehow the destructive force in his chest that had been building up felt a little weaker. It was still there, but it was like he'd dumped a bucket of water over a fire and left only the embers.

"H-How did you…?"

"I've been trained to handle trauma victims," Sai said. "In the Corps, we have missions where we have to rescue people, and a lot of the time that requires the knowledge of how to handle people who are frozen from fear. I also know some PTSD stuff, how to at least help a little, even if I can't fully sympathize. How do you think I handled Rei's death so well?"

Charon tensed again, his eyes widening.

"Hey, hey! Big breaths. See Taejin's Tower over there? Describe it in your head. Describe the height of the tower - did it break off half way or maybe a third of the way? - describe the sky around it, Cocoon up there, the rocky cliffs. Paint that picture and describe it."

Charon's mind wandered to Sai's task as he stared up at the admittedly beautiful scene. It worked well to distract and calm his mind.

"See? Doesn't fix everything, but it certainly helps. Just do what I told you if you need to in the future."

"I…thanks, Sai."

He nodded. "I'll talk to Shu, but this can only be resolved by you. This has gone too far, clearly. No pressure, but you gotta fix Shu, man."

He patted Charon on the shoulder, and Charon took another deep breath before following Sai to join the others again.

"What's another fal'Cie at this point, huh?" Lightning was pointing out.

As Dahaka flew past, a couple of the Wyverns that got too close to his tail literally exploded. As in, they self-destructed from the power of the fal'Cie flying past. Dahaka zapped them down like one of those bug lamps. He flew to the open top of Taejin's Tower and dived in.

"Was there something strange about that one?" Hope wondered.

"What do you mean?" Shu asked.

Hope shrugged. "There was just something that looked off. Can't remember what."

"All fal'Cie are different. Let's just hope we don't face the receiving end of Dahaka's wrath. If we can slip through unnoticed, it'll be best for all of us."

They encountered another Waystone with a mission mark of a Goblin Chieftain - nothing they couldn't handle. The Goblins were pretty hard hitters when they wanted to be, and with a Chieftain around they could be buffed with Goblinhancement to give them Bravery. There were also the red versions of the Goblins - the Munchkins - along with a respective Munchkin Maestro, who instantly went to work on using Goblinhancement to bestow Bravery and Vigilance, making the Goblin Punches extra hard. Not to mention when the Chieftain and the Maestro fell, the respective species (either Goblin or Munchkin) used Rise to Power to become a new Chieftain or Maestro.

It took Sentinels, Medics, and Synergists to make sure the team could take the attacks, as well as some Saboteuring skills to debuff and dispel. Overall, it was a pretty even fight with the two large groups and the unique skill sets. But where the monsters had power, they lacked in healing or defense. It was only a matter of time before each regular Goblins and Munchkins were wiped out, leaving only the leaders to be dispatched.

"You ever wonder how those guys eat?" Shu asked. "I mean, their  _mouths_  are their  _bodies_."

"And how do they have wheels for feet?" Sai added.

"Evolutionary traits?" Sazh guessed casually.

Mánagarmrs hung around the rocky terrain in front of Taejin's Tower. They had Accused Breath attacks which gave Curse and Imperil to those caught in the poisonous cloud, and it had Storm Conduction, an ability that summoned a shower of lightning bolts that damaged its enemies and healed itself. Beyond that, they looked pretty cool and were a bit tough like a wild wolf-like creature was meant to be, but it didn't stand a chance against them, even when there were small packs of two or three.

Someone was nice enough to have stacked a large cairn of stones to hold up a block of rock jutting out from the mountain so that it didn't crush anyone trying to walk beneath and it didn't block the narrow path. Convenient.

"Wow! Look at  _that!_ " Vanille exclaimed. "We're going up  _there?_ "

"Yup," Shu said. "The only way around the tower seems to be through it. All of the rocks and mountains are too tall and steep to climb, and there's this giant canyon in the way."

"Is there an exit on the other side?" Snow asked.

"There are elevators inside that can take us to the top and then we can ride down the second half of the tower that's fallen over since it looks like a ramp."

"Smart," Sai said. "But it's not gonna make us very popular with Dahaka."

"We'll deal with that when we get there. When in doubt, I'll just order Charon to kill Dahaka with his one-hit-kill blade."

Charon scowled. Not only was Shu not one to be the first to bring up murder as the only solution, but they also knew that Charon was fidgety at the prospect of using the blade that had killed Rei. He was slightly disturbed that Shu had talked about the weapon so casually after what it - what _Charon_  - had done.

A couple of Wyvern-type creatures, Amphisbaena, were flying around and were just as annoying as their predecessors, using powerful sweeping attacks with their wings, throwing debuffs, and using Feeding Stoop with their second mouths. Still, a little defending and healing then debuffing, buffing, staggering, and the physical attackers can take one out within a few hits.

As they got closer to the tower, they could start to see beyond the large valley where the peaks of white dunes could be seen. The structure of the tower was pretty impressive, built with engineering that had kept the two halves relatively intact even after all these years - barring that whole thing about the tower being split in two because it fell. The tower was built  _into_  the mountains of rock, a valley leading straight to the front doors.

At the entrance, a large door that had to be thirty feet tall loomed, slightly cracked open to their luck. The doors were seamlessly connected to the rock around it, leading to a corridor inside to Taejin's Tower. Beside each door was a tall statue at least twenty feet each, but they were worn from being outside. One had lost its head, on the ground in front of it, and its arms were held out to hold a weapon - a large stone sword held pointed to the ground as though he was standing guard. Whatever armor it was supposed to have was chipped, cracked, rusted, and far from structurally stable. Just touching the thing would likely make it crumble. The other statue was in a similar state, although he still had a head. He'd lost his right arm, however, as it was lying on the ground in front of it, somehow balanced on where the shoulder would have been connected so that the fist was facing upwards.

"Let's stay calm and do this," Hope said.

They walked into the hall, illuminated by glowing lights on the floor perpendicular to the path forward as well as small lights on little pillars along the sides. It instantly felt like they were inside a tunnel, turning a down the corridor as it leaned to make a 90-degree turn in a wide left before they came out into a large, open, circular room.

"It's funky in here," Sai said, looking around. "The architecture is similar to the Ark. Pretty old fashion."

"It's like everything else on Pulse," Shu said. "It looks old-school compared to Cocoon, but in reality, it's just as advanced, if not more."

"My stomach's tied in a  _knot_ ," Vanille murmured.

"I don't like the air here," Hope agreed.

"Not sure I like the look of this place," Sazh concurred.

The main room was illuminated by a large light in the center, a dome-like blue crystal with two large arches above it that crossed in the center above the crystal. Between the two arches in the middle, as if standing guard, there were four statues just like the ones out at the front door, looking a lot better than the ones outside though since they were intact, holding large stone weapons in their hands. There were giant pillars across the room holding up a part of the ceiling that seemed to be the other floors above, wheels on the bottom of them that were along tracks. About twenty feet up and halfway into the circular room, the ceiling disappeared to reveal a large circular opening all the way to the top. The tower was glowing, every floor illuminated and somehow still having power, and the little dashed horizontal blue lights resembled a skyscraper on Cocoon with all of the floors and the lights scattered about depending on who was in a room with the lights on - it looked like a smaller version of that.

"The rest of the tower is in layers," Sai noticed. "Look. Each floor is separate from the others, they all rotate, and these giant wheels are holding the entire weight."

"Imagine what it was like back when the tower was whole," Shu said. "The floors turned very slowly from the weight. It can get really annoying when something moves too slowly and there's nothing you can do about it. Especially if there's a really easy solution."

Charon stared at the crystal in the center of the room, taking his deep breaths with his clenched fist.

Sai noticed there was a vertical wall right next to a giant ring and a ramp. The wall had a bunch of vertical lines that split it up, little blue dots that mimicked a music box mechanism scattered about in the different sections - where something slides up or down the thing and makes a chime every time that it hits one of the blue notes so that it creates a song. He noticed there were similar walls connected to higher floors, but they weren't aligned properly. Maybe that was the elevator, and since the floors of this place turned, they might be able to line them up. It certainly had enough power.

Sai voiced his thoughts. "The only question is how we activate the floors to line them up," He finished.

"Look for a switch," Lightning suggested. "It has to be obvious if it controls the entire tower."

"Maybe that big thing in the middle?" Snow suggested.

They walked closer and fanned out slightly to search, but Shu made a loud humming noise in a questioning tone. "Hm?"

Everyone started to look around as they heard a whisper in the air, no discernable words, but a definite voice.

"I'm not…the  _only_  one hearing that, am I?" Vanille announced.

"No," Sazh agreed. "Uh…i-it couldn't be  _them_ , could it?"

Shu twisted their head and looked around before finally staring up to the statues that were positioned beside the arches in the middle of the room with the large light. They had their hands positioned at weird angles, a sword pointing downwards in their right hands while their left hands were twisted so that their palms were facing away from them, thumbs aimed towards the ground.

"I don't know," Hope said. "It's weird, like voices in my head.

Now that they were paying attention, they realized that it  _was_  the statues that were talking.

"I hear it," Shu said. "Ancient language, very old. 'Your presence here draws the tyrant's gaze. Leave this place at once.' Well, that's friendly."

"We  _can't_  leave," Vanille insisted. "This is the only way for us to get  _through_."

"Tyrant you said?" Sai clarified.

Shu nodded. "Yeah, basically."

"If Dahaka lives here, a big bad fal'Cie that we've seen outside…"

"That means he's the big baddy they were talking about," Sazh concluded.

"So how about a deal?" Sai said. "We help you with your tyrant problem and you help us get through the tower."

The giant statue whispered again.

"'As you wish,'" Shu translated. "'Look for us, and the way will open.'"

The giant statue then moved, its awkwardly positioned hand moving to take hold of its sword while the sword hand moved to point the sword completely downward in front of it. With the two hands on its weapon, it slammed the stone blade into the floor. With a flash of light from the crystal in the center, the entire area came to life, the higher floors spinning both clockwise and counterclockwise at alternating floors. They finally came to a stop when the walls with the blue tick marks that had looked like an elevator lined up just as Sai had predicted, sealing together with a ring like a chime and a flash from all of the different little vertical sections. A giant wheel came down, connected to the elevator by a rotating outer layer separate from the main part where passengers would be.

The wheel stopped right next to the giant ring with the ramp, the ring glowing with some weird aura that probably allowed people into the cabin, activating the doors, or possibly it called down the elevator when it was disrupted - maybe if it was on another floor you could call it down. A pretty advanced system.

Snow hummed in amusement, hands on his hips. "Well  _that_  was easy enough."

"Things are so much easier than they seem," Shu threw out.

"Another reason to use your manners and ask nicely," Sai declared loudly. "And it's a win-win situation here. Offering something in return always helps."

"You never know," Hope said. "Could be a trap."

"Could  _be_ ," Sazh agreed, scratching the back of his head. "I don't see no stairs, though."

"Nope," Fang said. "This is our ride, bumpy or not."

They walked up the ramp and Hope looked up the

"We'll get by  _some_ how,  _some_ way," Vanille said encouragingly.

The cabin inside the wheel had fancy spiral doors that whirred open with five different sections, ready for the group to enter. They passed through the weird aura of the giant ring without incident, it almost didn't seem to exist even though it was definitely there around the edges.

"These controls seem…simple enough," Sai said.

He pressed a big button and a console came up with a bit of fancy Pulsian language. There were two different words, one on top of the other, with the bottom one in a gray color. There was a small arrow pointing at the top word that was still glowing, flickering just slightly to show that it was being highlighted. There were a couple more buttons that looked important, two that were definitely meant for the 'Up' and 'Down' commands and then a slightly bigger one - not as big as the main activation button, but bigger than the directional buttons. It was also red when the others were turquoise like the rest of the tower's stuff.

He pressed the red button.

The lever in the middle of the room whirred and the light on the end of the handle blinked. Sai walked over to the heavy lever and pushed it forwards. There was a big clank as the spiral door hummed and closed. There were six wheels on either side of the cabin with glowing lights to indicate their location. They started to spin, all at different speeds, and were probably powering the outer layer of the elevator connected to the musical wall that controlled the elevation of the elevator. The room had a slight jolt as the elevator started to lift on the chiming of the music-box-like wall.

"There we…go. Ha, a simple system even if you don't read the language. It looks like there are still a few floors still inactive until we get to the top."

"Maybe if we find more statues they can fix more floors," Shu suggested.

There was a dial with a bunch of numbers on it like a casino machine, some rattling that was slightly unnerving when you were on a centuries-old contraption that was literally climbing a wall like the tangent line of a circle, but otherwise, the ride went well. When the ride came to a stop, the doors opened on the opposite side that they'd entered - proving that both doors worked at least. They went through another weird glowing ring thing and down a ramp onto a circular path going around the circumference of the tower floor.

"Okay, second tier," Sai said.

The others walked off the elevator, but Sai held Shu back. "Hey, Shu?"

"Hm?"

Sai waited until the others were out of earshot. "Look, you need to cool down with Charon, okay?"

Shu frowned. "Don't tell me you're taking his  _side_  on this."

"I'm not taking sides, I'm saying that you two need to work these issues out, not be mean about it."

"I've  _tried_  being nice, and I'm  _tired_  of it. You wanna lecture someone, lecture  _Charon_. He's the one that refuses to be an adult about this, so until  _he_  does, I've decided that I'm not going to be either. At least maybe like this, he'll talk to me. I don't care if he's yelling and screaming. I just want him to confide in me."

Shu's voice got a little gentler at the end, and Sai let Shu walk off after the others. He sighed. This was the worst love story to be mediating ever.

Charon had been walking ahead of the group, but Shu quickly overtook him, wanting to be the one in front.

"Keep up, dragon breath."

Charon frowned.

"What? Got something to say? Or does the cat got your tongue? I'm the cat, so I guess I'm pretty got at rendering people speechless. Ironic."

"You…" Charon grunted. "Would you  _stop_  this?"

"Given up already?"

"This isn't  _you_ , Shu."

"This is what you've  _pushed_  me into  _becoming_ , so until you're ready to act like a rational adult about all this, I can do what I want. You have no control over me or my actions and you have no right to complain when I've given you  _plenty_  of chances to fix things."

"It's not that  _simple_ , Shu. You don't know what I'm feeling, so  _you_  have no right to judge me when I'm having a hard enough time-!"

" _You're_  having a hard time?! My sister died because of you and your foolishness, and now the  _one_  person that I want to have by my side to comfort me is too caught up in his own problems to think about anyone but himself!"

Charon flinched, but before he could come up with a response, there was a loud humming and clicking that echoed across the area. With a whoosh, Dahaka flew up from the lower levels, circling around with his long tail so that it hovered in front of the group. Dahaka's odd face with his big mask, turtle shell thing on his back, and a body and arms that just looked wrong for some reason, came up close and studied them, his tail hovering beneath him, consisting of orbs of crystal and metal/bone material carved in the shapes of more faces like some native design. He flew up and started circling around again. Sai noticed that on his turtle-shell back thingy there was a crystal that heavily resembled the one on the ground floor that the giant statue people had been circling.

"Does that mean Dahaka is  _powering_  this place?" Sai wondered. "Or is it that he's left his mark as a blight of some kind?"

Dahaka started to fly in an odd pattern, having to fly around the small confines of the tower but seemingly an expert at it - considering that this was his home, after all.

"What's he up to?" Lightning muttered.

"You  _toying_  with us?" Fang demanded, her hand on her lance.

"Guys, he's coming!"

The fal'Cie dived towards them and everyone scattered. It happened so fast that it was over before they knew it. Shu started screaming, and it was only afterwards that they realized it was because they had fallen and had been grabbed by one of Dahaka's clawed hands.

"Dahaka, let me go! Dahaka! I  _swear_  to the  _gods_ , I am  _not_  in the mood right now!"

They raised their sword to slice their way free, but Dahaka suddenly dropped them before they could do any damage. Surprised by the sudden effect of gravity taking hold, Shu lost their grip on their sword, was taken completely by surprise, and before they could realize what had happened - as there had been a split second of confusion about why the world was moving again and what that punch of shock in the chest had been from - they were suddenly zapped by the end of Dahaka's tail, which consisted of three smaller orbs of crystal, getting progressively smaller towards the end of the tail. They glowed and hummed with a high pitched whirr before sending a blast of energy through Shu that actually stopped their descent as though they had suddenly become stuck on the deadly weapon.

Shu screamed louder than any of them had ever heard them scream, unaware that their voice even reached those levels of decibels. There was a hiss and deep growl mixed in, like the combination of a lion's roar and a cat's whimper, meaning that Dahaka was giving a blast hard enough to hurt Shu's true form as well. Their voice echoed all the way up and down the echo chamber of a tower before Dahaka flew up, tossing Shu up and away like a game of catch. As Shu went up, came to a stop in the air, and began plummeting again, Dahaka went downwards and circled back up to catch the unconscious Shu and fly up and away.

"Hey!" Charon shouted.

He launched up after Dahaka with his flight and threw his Kozuka to Warp-Strike to Dahaka's face, prepared to strike.

"Let. Them. GO!"

He brought down his Wakizashi with a powerful blow and Dahaka roared, flinching and dropping Shu as he tried to stay airborne in the small room that it had to fly in thanks to the limited space of the tower. Charon sheathed his sword and dived down to catch Shu, checking to see if they were okay.

"Flower, wake up."

He shook Shu as he flew them back to the others. Shu's body had been significantly damaged, patches of skin burnt away to reveal the mechanical workings of their fal'Cie body. Shu's skin was browning in uneven patches like a leaf dying in fall, the different colors of autumn, and their hair was starting to lose color, turning many shades duller with black mold starting to form.

"Shu, stay with me!"

Their eyes were half open and their lips were trembling as though they were trying to speak. Or struggling to breathe.

Charon had nearly made it to the others, aiming his feet for the platform, before he and Shu were suddenly grabbed from behind. Dahaka's form was larger and he was better at flying than any other fal'Cie - being the fal'Cie of the skies - and so Charon wasn't strong enough to resist his pull and he was afraid of damaging Shu even more. He would have to fully transform if he wanted to compete with Dahaka's thrust through the air, but he doubted that the tower was wide enough for his full wingspan and he would be even more useless.

Charon grabbed his Zanmato and pulled. He wasn't sure that it would work, but to his surprise, the blade came free and slice downwards through Dahaka's tail, causing the fal'Cie to roar and drop them. Charon had a moment where he thought that they'd actually gotten away, but he's only sliced off the end of the fal'Cie's tail as it came back around, grabbing Shu as it passed and them whacking Charon with the remain bits of its tail that charged up more energy to send him flying into the wall, actually passing  _through_  it and into a hidden room behind it. The room was supposed to be accessible by other means, but you could also bust through a wall, sure.

"Looks like  _somebody's_  got a  _temper_ ," Fang muttered.

"Charon, are you okay?!" Sai called.

There were flames surrounding the area that Charon had landed thanks to the charged energy from Dahaka's tail - particularly a wall of flame that was blocking the path that the l'Cie had been walking down. Charon picked himself up, leaning on his Wakizashi, and hobbled through the wall he'd smashed through before standing straight. Dahaka had flown up and away with Shu in hand to the top of the tower.

"You come back here, you  _bastard!_ "

Charon jumped forward and started to hover, but he wobbled in the air and fell back down, just barely hitting the edge of the walkway that spanned the circumference of the room and staying up on the second tier.

"Charon!" Sai shouted, the first to run up to him. "What's wrong?"

"I can't…I can't fly," Charon realized.

"What? How is that  _possible?_ "

"Stupid fal'Cie has power over flight. That combined with a hit that big…if I try to even  _think_  about it…" He winced and held his hand over his abdomen. "Dammit. A curse."

"Curse?"

He tried to summon a small thrust that would allow him to hover just an inch off the ground, but felt a stinging pain from his stomach region where Dahaka's tail had made contact. It was like the equivalent of a charley horse for a fal'Cie - that is to say, not fun.

"He's grounded me. The little-"

He said a word that definitely wasn't in English, but Sai could only assume it was the fal'Cie word for 'shit head.'

"Look, can you still fight?" Sai asked.

"Of course I can," Charon snapped.

"We're making our way up the tower anyway. If you can understand those statue guys-"

"Menhirrim, and of course I can understand them.  _I_  constructed them to guard this tower. Never thought Dahaka would take over while I was gone though."

"If we can figure out how to help them, they can help  _us_  get to the top faster."

Charon grunted in frustration, but looked back to the hole in the wall that he'd made. In the room beyond, a Menhirrim statue loomed, standing in a weird position as though he was posing for a dance.

"Fine. The Menhirrim here seem to have lost their weapons, their  _power_  to monsters across this place. Defeat those monsters, we get the Menhirrim their power back and they can get us to the top. There are three Menhirrim on this tier. Let's get moving."

"What did that fal'Cie want with Shu, anyway?" Hope wondered.

"Nothing good," Charon said grimly. "Shu was damaged, but alive. Dahaka needs them for something. If he gets a chance to do whatever it is, I don't think Shu will remain breathing for long."

The tenseness in his voice reminded Sai of the times when Charon was prepared to put everything aside them to save Shu. He'd forgotten all about their falling out, he'd forgotten his anger as well as his hesitation. He needed to save Shu, that was all that mattered. No matter how complicated his feelings were, he needed to keep Shu alive if he wanted to avoid another heartbreak that would shatter him beyond hope of salvation. Like it not, Shu was his only lifeline whether he allowed them to be or not.

"Then let's go," Sai declared. "What's the first monster?"


	37. Ascending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Wake up. Hey, wake up!"
> 
> Shu blinked. They were awake. Weren't they?
> 
> "Good, you're conscious. Can you sit up?"
> 
> Shu tried to move. It was really exhausting. Their limbs felt like lead, or maybe more like jelly. Or both. Lead jelly. Ew, that sounded gross.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm doing a double update for Thanksgiving, to say thanks to the universe for giving me some time to get my writing done as well as finally getting me to this part of the story. It's been so long.
> 
> The next time that I'm gonna get this much free time will probably be Christmas, so…yeah, hang tight.
> 
> Enjoy! :)

A Gelatitan.

That was their first mark.

Charon wasn't a patient man. Or fal'Cie. Or…whatever. He wasn't very patient.

Their first target was a giant flan that looked to be the result of some disease. Charon used a Deceptisol (that apparently he just  _had_  and never thought to share with the group) to get a Preemptive Strike and absolutely wreck it.

The next Menhirrim gave them an Ambling Bellows and his Cryptos friends. All Sai knew was that there was a Thundaga spell that boomed through the area, all the machines started glowing gold and Charon sliced down the two Cryptos and launched the Ambling Bellows as it was trying to deploy more.

Sai didn't even know what happened to the Gurangatch. He wasn't sure that its armored shell did anything to protect it. Like, at all.

As the swords of the three Menhirrim were returned to them, they all moved in sync across the different rooms to flip their swords upright and activate their power with small flashes of dark purple auras. The flames blocking the path forward were extinguished, and then the statues were still.

"That it?" Snow asked, unimpressed. "These big, massive, amazing statues, they all bring their forces together to put out that tiny flame."

"Amazing powers," Fang said sarcastically.

"They aid us when we need it," Charon said. "Let's just get moving."

They headed down the path once more, but Dahaka flew past and everyone drew their weapons.

"Great. Here we go again!" Fang called, her lance drawn in defense.

"Can't take a hint," Snow said.

"You're one to talk," Lightning countered.

"Huh?"

"What did you do to Asushunamir?!" Charon demanded.

The fal'Cie didn't speak, but Charon's eyes widened to his response in his fal'Cie language.

Charon pointed to Dahaka. "Go!"

Three Menhirrim statues - the very three that they'd helped regain their powers - appeared in three flashes of light. They were suddenly very active, not only being able to fly, but to also move their stone bodies with speed and grace, moving their weapons into battle poses. One struck Dahaka on his turtle shell back as he passed and the other one of the glowing crystal orbs on his tail. The third one rose up and swung his sword, a wave of energy flying out and then chopping off another section of Dahaka's tail, causing it to plummet down to the lower floors.

"Whoo!" Sazh cheered. "I'll be damned!"

Dahaka flew off and the Menhirrim lowered their battle stances, their voices whispering through the air.

"What are they saying?" Sai asked.

"They're sad?" Charon drawled. "Something like that."

The three statues held their swords in front of them with both hands, the blades pointing upwards, and flashed away.

"Oh, thank you!" Vanille called.

"Well, I guess the way  _is_  open now," Lightning announced.

Sazh nodded as they followed her lead forward. The outer path led to another room with some Pulsework Gladiators, yellow Pulsework machines that had arms that looked like boxing gloves and rings for heads. They headed up the stairs to the third tier with some Mánagarmrs and even more Gladiators. They talked to another Menhirrim statue, and when it stabbed its sword into the floor, the tower began to shift again, the next few floors lining up and the doorway that had once been blocked because the tier hadn't lined up was now open.

They walked outside to find one of the ramps and rings for the elevator. This time, the center wasn't clear and completely transparent, an aura clearly there. Sai carefully tapped it and the aura shimmered like water that had been disturbed. With a chime, a rumble from below came closer and the elevator came up to the third tier.

" _Smart_  elevator!"

This time, they had access to the fourth floor and went through the noisy ride. Both sides of the elevator opened this time, so they shrugged and went off the left side. They found a room with some Yaksha and their War Dances that did damage in a wide radius and Yakshini and their Catastrophic Dance that inflicted Deprotect as well as their Frenzied Dance that gave Bravery onto its allies. There was another elevator inside, separate from the main one, but it only had one floor that it went to beyond the one they were currently on.

"The fifth floor," Charon said. "That's what it says."

"Should we go to the fifth floor or should we check the other side?" Lightning asked.

"Might as well make sure we're not missing anything," Hope said.

They headed to the other side of the main elevator where the room had some flying Cie'th - Varcolaci - with their Miasma attacks and their evasive nature, and another separate elevator that went to the sixth tier, according to Charon.

"Should we go in order, back to the fifth floor?" Vanille suggested.

"We don't have time for this back and forth!" Charon snapped. "You go to the other elevator, split up and speed up. Shu's life is on the line here and so is Cocoon's, so hurry up!" He handed them one of his Kozuka. "This will help you understand the Menhirrim. Go!"

"I'll stay with him," Sai said. "Everyone else, handle the fifth floor."

They nodded and left. Their Menhirrim had the mark of a Mushussu and a couple Yakshini, which were happily right on the same floor. The main elevator wasn't active on the fifth floor since it wasn't aligned yet, and so they had reached a dead end and turned back.

Meanwhile, Sai and Charon went up to the sixth floor where a Vampire (a bigger and slightly more dangerous Cie'th) was waiting for them. It hit hard, had a good deal of defense, and had an Aeroga attack which basically summoned a tornado. Though it was pretty tough, it didn't last long against an angry Charon.

"A Vetala," Charon reported after the Menhirrim spoke. "Pretty dangerous. They put up barriers that can only be breached with a stagger and they have powerful magic attacks that hit fast and over a wide area."

"So where did he say that it was?"

They went out to the main path and into another room with a Menhirrim that already had his sword. After swatting some Varcolaci and Chonchon (weird little bat Cie'th) they had the Menhirrim stab his sword into the floor and rotate the tower's floors. When they walked out of the room, they found they had come out on a different part of the circular path with access to a new room. Inside, there was a staircase back down to the fifth floor and to the Vetala.

It was certainly an interesting Cie'th, hovering with a rock beneath and above the body, as well as two faces on each pectoral and the former brands with the red eyes beneath them like nipples. Now Sai knew that Cie'th had faces as well as the eyes of their brands (he could see the red eyes of his and his friends' brands forming) but never had he seen them positioned like  _that_.

"What the heck?" Sai demanded.

"Cie'th come in all different varieties," Charon said. "This Cie'th is so powerful because it's the combination of two l'Cie who had so strong a bond that when they failed their Focus, they merged into one."

"Like two people in love?"

"Or siblings or just close friends, maybe parent to child. Any powerful bond when the two share the same Focus and fail together. It's not common, but it's not exactly rare either."

The Vetala, like Charon had mentioned, used Inertial Barrier to put up a circular barrier around its entire body that made it immune to physical attacks and resistant to magical. It looked to be mostly transparent, the visible parts scattered like a petri dish of bacteria. It hovered around the battlefield casually, using Multicast with some circular glyphs appearing on its…hands(?) to use two second tier spells - in this case, Watera and Blizzara. Charging the next Multicast didn't take very long and the next pair was two Thundara spells. It continued this simple pattern while the two boys went to work staggering it. It took little time to get it up, and once it was staggered its barrier went away, even so, it was still using Multicast with Fira and Thundara. Charon stabbed it in the…well  _a_  face and then took it down with vigor.

"Charon, what did Dahaka say happened to Shu?" Sai asked.

He had meant to ask earlier, but he had forgotten during all the action.

Charon dropped his head. "Remember how I said that me, Shu, Rei, and my sister Styx were special fal'Cie?"

"Sure, ones representing the stages of life or whatnot."

"Well the four of us have the ability to create a Ragnarok that can destroy Cocoon. Whatever makes us so special, I don't know, but Dahaka figured it out. Maybe this was Barthandelus, telling Dahaka about us before we came so that we'd never make it to Oerba, so that I'd give in or something or maybe so that Shu could be captured and threatened into making me do stuff. I don't know how he learned, but now Dahaka seems to think that Shu can open a portal to the Unseen Realm on their own - no big sacrifice like Barthandelus planned, no Ragnarok."

"And  _can_  Shu?"

Charon shook his head. "It's not that simple.  _Maybe_  all four of us together could open a portal, but we would all have to use so much power that…it would require us dying in some ritual. If Dahaka tries to extract Shu's power and Shu alone…it won't be enough and Shu…"

"…won't survive," Sai finished.

Charon's eyes were filled with tears but he didn't let any of them fall. "We have to hurry. Come on."

Sai sighed and ran after Charon. This was how Charon and Shu were supposed to be, loving each other above all else without all the complications getting in the way, the insecurities, the hesitation. There was no doubt that Charon still cared about Shu, and now that he'd finally been pushed into admitting it, mostly to himself rather than anyone else, maybe he could make it past all of his emotional pain.

They headed down the hall and had another Menhirrim with a Penanggalan as a mark. Charon also smashed a Tyrant (the mechanical kind with the shield and the Centurion Blade. Like the blue and more powerful version of a Berserker). They walked outside into the hall, seeing a Menhirrim that had his weapon and that could probably move the tower layers again, but as they approached, Dahaka came up again, flying up and down before flicking his tail and freezing the path in front of the Menhirrim.

"We'll never get to him  _now_ ," Sai sighed.

"Let's double back and meet up with the others for the final Menhirrim," Charon said. "We get these three up and running and they'll be able to nullify the ice like they did the fire and hopefully get another chance to strike back at Dahaka."

They went back the way they came to the staircase up to the sixth floor and to a room that had the first Menhirrim they'd found. The others were already there looking for Charon and Sai, so they met up nicely at the sight of the mark. There were Chonchons still there, but now there was a big blue one that was no doubt the Penanggalan. It was a battle of Blitz to take out the bats and surviving Life Sounding attacks that summoned the others into action. Penanggalan had access to things like Deprotega, Poisonga, and Aeroga, but beyond that, it wasn't a very hard fight.

The three Menhirrim now had their powers returned and they did the same as the others on the lower floors, pointing their swords upwards with a small burst of energy. Charon and Sai informed the others of the Menhirrim that could readjust the higher floors and they all went back down to the fifth floor where they had been.

"The ice should be gone now so the Menhirrim can do his work."

They made it to the location and Charon was right, the path to the Menhirrim was clear. On their way to it, however, Dahaka came down again from above, flicking its tail in their direction and causing them all to duck. Dahaka's flight had definitely been affected from its shortened tail, as it constantly worked to maintain balance like a reverse pendulum.

"Pick on something your own size!" Sazh shouted.

"Now!" Charon called.

The Menhirrim appeared in a flash, weapons raised. One slashed at the base of Dahaka's tail that connected it to his body, another going straight for his face, but Dahaka retaliated with a sweep of his remaining tail and sent the two stone men flying into the tower wall. Vanille screamed and flinched as Hope took a step back from the force of the impact. The two Menhirrim started to plummet before teleporting away.

"Eat this!" Charon shouted.

The final Menhirrim slashed at Dahaka, sending out a wave of energy from his blade and narrowly missed the fal'Cie, instead cutting off the rest of his tail and leaving only a single crystal orb attached. Dahaka retreated to the top of the tower again. The final Menhirrim hovered above them, whispering his message.

"They're going to help us get to the top floor to Dahaka - and Shu," Charon informed them.

The Menhirrim pointed to the Menhirrim that they had already been planning to investigate, now free of Dahaka's ice. He then flashed away.

"Aw…he's  _gone_ …" Vanille muttered.

"Let's just count our blessings," Snow said. "The way's clear. We have to hurry if we wanna save Shu."

Everyone nodded. "Right."

They had the Menhirrim stab his sword into the ground and braced themselves as the floors of the tower began to rotate again, the elevator finishing itself as the central elevator was positioned. They went back inside to find a different room filled with Yaksha and Yakshini, taking the inner elevator from the fifth tier to the fourth tier - as that seemed to be the only way forward. Charon was frustrated at the constant backtracking, thinking about Shu and how injured they were before Dahaka had even taken them. He'd never seen Shu that weak, he'd never been so scared for them.

"For the love of all that's good…" Sazh muttered, also tiring of the back and forth.

They went down to the fourth floor and got into the central elevator, taking it up to the sixth floor again before heading into the rooms and into another damn elevator and Sai had lost track of what they were doing anymore. They plowed their way through some Cie'th and made it to the final elevator that would take them to the Apex.

"That means the top, right?" Vanille sighed.

When they reached the top it was definitely the top, as they were at the broken part of the tower where the sun could be seen. There were a couple more elevators, showing that the tower still had a little more adjusting to do before the central elevator itself could make it to all of the floors rather than needing to take one of the extra elevators on the sixth floor.

"Shu!" Charon called. " _Shu!_ "

* * *

_Shu was dreaming. It took a while to realize that._

_Shu was little, sitting with Rei at the springs. "Rei, what if we get separated?"_

_"We'll find each other," She declared. "No matter how long it takes, I'll always come for you."_

_She slipped one of the flowers around their wrist and another around their middle finger. "I promise." She put her finger to the glowing plant on their wrist, and it shimmered before disappearing. "Just in case someone tries to take them away." She held out her bundle of flora. "Now do you promise me?_ "

_They stared at her in surprise before taking the plants and repeating what she'd done for them. "Okay. I promise."_

_Shu was lying in Charon's lap on his bed on the Lindblum. "What are we supposed to do if we get separated?"_

_Charon ran his hands through Shu's hair. Yeah, they'd reached_ that _point in their relationship. "We'll find each other, no matter what. I'll never let anything take you from me."_

_"We should get matching rings," Shu blurted._

_Charon looked down at Shu. "Where'd that come from?"_

_"Just an idea. We need something symbolic between us. Me and Rei got flower rings so that we would always have each other. You and I need rings too."_

_Charon ruffled Shu's hair and they squeaked, combing it back into place again. "I'll give you a ring one day, but let's wait a few years before we get married."_

_"Sure. What's a '_ married? _' Is that a type of ring on Cocoon? Is it a word for a_  pair  _of rings? We usually just call them a 'couple' of rings like everything else."_

_Charon gave a knowing smile. "Never you mind."_

_"_ What?! _Tell me~! Tell me and I'll love you forever!"_

_Charon looked like he was gonna keep his mouth shut, but eventually, he couldn't resist and gave in._

_"It means bonding with someone you love for eternity, making sure that people know you belong to each other and no one else, and it's an ultimate declaration of love."_

_Shu blinked. "And you…you'd married_  me? _"_

_"_ Marry _," Charon nodded. "But let's give things a little more time to progress. Just to make sure."_

Shu jolted awake, a feeling of dread settling in. They wanted to ask, ' _Why did you need to make sure?_ ' but they had known that Charon was right. They needed to have more time together before they took such a big step, to make sure that all the secrets between them were out. Charon had known the whole time that he was lying to Shu, that's why he had said they should hold off - because he knew that Shu wouldn't want to marry him after they learned the truth.

But Shu still did. They still wanted to love Charon, love him enough to marry him. Now they would never be able to.

Shu's entire body was numb. They weren't sure if they had woken up yet or if this was still just a dream. It was sunny out. The sun was nice, but there were shadows. Half of Shu's body was in a shadow and therefore didn't get as much healing as the part of them in the direct sunlight.

Shu wanted to call for Charon, but their voice wouldn't come.

They were scared, they felt helpless and alone, and they were tired. They were so tired of this game of dancing around Charon and waiting for him and tired of loving him. But they didn't want to stop loving him, they couldn't just turn their feelings off. That was a weird thing, feelings. Why did they have them? Why didn't any other fal'Cie have them? Was Shu even a fal'Cie? What about them was so special, the thing Charon had mentioned?

Who cared anymore? Shu just wanted rest. They wanted all this pain to stop, both the physical and the mental. Now they understood, to a small extent, what Charon had been going through - being so tired of the endless pain that the only way to make it stop was death. Shu had never known that kind of pain before, they'd always had someone by their side, Rei, Sai, Charon. Now, it all just seemed to be slipping away.

Shu saw Dahaka flying past, looking agitated. The fal'Cie spoke to Shu a couple of times, but Shu's hearing was affected from Dahaka's attack, so all Shu heard was a low growling, echoing far away like Dahaka was on the other end of a long tunnel.

Shu fell asleep a couple times, unaware when they were awake and when they were asleep. They dreamed of kissing Charon back when they were still together, they dreamed of Charon turning his back to them when they were apart. They remembered times when the two of them laughed together, they remembered the times when they were arguing.

"Shu!"

The voice came from below, but it was undeniably familiar. " ** _Charon?_** "

" _Shu!_ "

" ** _I'm right here!_** "

Their voice wasn't coming out for some reason. Their mental powers didn't have a wide enough radius while they were this weak. Dahaka was hovering above Shu, reaching a talon down to their chest. Finally, Shu could understand what Dahaka was saying to them.

" _Child of the goddess, open the gate and return unto this land the Maker of all things!_ "

Dahaka's intentions flowed through Shu and they began to panic.

" ** _Mataecharonsan, save me!_** "

It was a desperate plea, a hope that using Charon's command name would somehow communicate to him that Shu needed his help. Shu needed  _him_. Shu needed the Charon that they'd fallen in love with back, they needed the Charon that loved them and the Charon that wasn't afraid of anything. Shu wanted Charon, they wanted Rei, they wanted everything that they'd lost and had pretended that they were coping with but really weren't. Shu needed to get something back with all of this loss they were facing in such a short period of time.

Shu felt Dahaka's talon slicing them open and everything became foggy. There was a green light that Shu saw as they began to feel like their life force was being drained out of their stomach - which it kinda was.

_I love you_.

They wanted that to be their last thought, they wanted it to be the last thing they ever knew, they wanted to let Charon know one last time before they lost the chance forever. But a moment later, the only thing that Shu had managed to get to was 'love.' At the end, Shu forgot what they loved and why they were still fighting when they could just…stop.

* * *

There was screaming from above, a raspy voice that Charon knew was Shu without a moment of thought. There was a green light coming from above them, and the others followed Charon as he sprinted to the center of the apex, looking up to see there was another platform above. Charon looked down, realizing that they were thankfully on an elevator specifically meant to get them up there. He slammed his fist down on the elevator and a jolt went through it, causing it to start rising.

When they reached the top, there were high winds as a large column of green energy was surrounding Shu floating high above - or more accurately, the energy was coming  _from_  Shu. It was their life force, Charon could sense it for miles. He'd always known that smell, that feeling that he got just from being around Shu, and it was overwhelming now that it was free from Shu's body. It was escaping.

Up above Shu, their energy was gathering and warping the air like some kind of black hole. Shu's energy was being fed into making that portal.

Charon jumped up. "Shu!"

Instantly, pain ripped through his abdomen and he started to fall, but he pushed harder to generate thrust. He just needed to reach Shu.

He started to see spots, his vision was tunneling to black from the pain. He felt his fingers brush Shu's before he coughed up blood and began to plummet. The moment he hit the ground his body healed itself and he recovered, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to reach Shu unless Dahaka's curse was removed, and that would only happen if he killed Dahaka.

"Dahaka! Where are you?! Show yourself!"

" _The gate shall open!_ "

Dahaka came floating down to face them, smiling with its weird mask and arms.

"What have you done?!" Sai demanded.

" _I have done what Barthandelus has not! He has made us wait all these years, searching in vain, while_ I  _have done what the king has failed to do in merely a day!_ "

"He's opening the gate to the Unseen Realm!" Charon explained. "It won't work! Shu's not enough! You need all four of us, and two of us are dead!"

" _One is more than enough to do the job! Two will be even better!_ "

"Come and get it, you son of a bitch!"

"We need to get to Shu!" Sai announced.

Dahaka started to hover in a slightly unstable way, as though he was about to throw up.

"It's acting strange," Lightning announced.

"He must be weak from losing his tail," Fang observed.

Lightning sparked. Charon just now noticed that the area they were in was surrounded by crystals that Dahaka had to have placed there strategically for the purpose of this transformation. Electricity sparked across Dahaka, fed to him through the crystals. Dahaka grabbed the final crystal orb that had once been his tail and then his body actually rose up to reveal a dragon-esque form with its turtle shell opening to reveal a fan of metal blades.

"Yeah?" Snow chuckled. "Uh, looks plenty feisty to _me_."

"He's bluffing to scare us off," Hope suggested. "Let's just go with that, all right? Come on! We can do this!"

Dahaka roared in challenge.

"Not our lucky day," Fang muttered.

They split into teams. Hope and Sazh went to buffing the team as fast as possible, Fang and Snow went Sentinel to defend against what Dahaka had, Vanille and Sai began casting debuffs, and Lightning cast Libra so that she and Charon could begin pummeling Dahaka with everything they had. Dahaka cast a Fira spell and then a Thunder spell, but seeing as they weren't overly powerful, Fang turned Saboteur to try and inflict Slow. Vanille had Imperil hit, making Dahaka weak to all of the elements, and Hope cast Enfire on the group so that they did more damage.

Dahaka swiped with his claws at Snow, knocking him to the ground, but it didn't keep him down for long. The next time Dahaka used his claw attack, Snow was prepared and defending again. Fang got Slow to hit while Vanille went to work on Deprotect. Dahaka cast a Blizzard spell then a Watera. Sai, Fang, Sazh, Hope, and Snow went offensive, joining Lightning and Charon in the assault. Vanille finally got Deprotect to hit and joined in casting her spells for a stagger gauge.

Dahaka whined in protest before he roared and the fan of blades from his turtle shell retracted. He held his hands out in front of him and built up energy into an orb of power. It became almost strong enough to have its own gravitational force before it exploded in a Fulminous Firestorm, healed Dahaka's debuffs and cast Imperil on a couple of the l'Cie. The skies turned from blue to yellow and pink like there was a sun right above the tower, and Dahaka now absorbed fire and lightning attacks.

Hope went Synergist and switched the Enfire for Enfrost while Vanille healed everyone up from the blast as well as using Esuna on those inflicted with Imperil and they unleashed their attacks once more. Dahaka roared and lowered his dragon head to reveal the mask part that they had once thought was his real face, preparing Foul Utterance. The mask took a deep breath so powerful that disturbed the air around it and darkened it with wisps of orange and black energy. It flashed as though it had spit out a hairball and sent out a blast that resembled a comet about the size of a basketball. It soared down and then exploded when it struck Charon, sending him flying back with a grunt, but he pulled himself back up and ran forward to attack, the others having to heal the damage.

Dahaka cast Haste and Faith on himself, throwing out a Firaga. Hope put up Barfire on everyone while Fang was fast with getting a pair of Dispels out there so that Dahaka couldn't have that edge over them for long. Dahaka reared up for another attack similar to Fulminous Firestorm, but it instead exploded into an icy blast that turned the sky from fiery to an abnormal blue-white and freezing the air from the Bone-chilling Breaker. Now Dahaka absorbed ice and water attacks rather than fire and lightning. Dahaka cast Blizzaga, fittingly enough, and Hope had to quickly switch the Barfire to Barfrost and the Enfrost to Enfire for everyone. On top of the fact that all of Dahaka's special moves were dispelling three to four buffs at a time, Hope nearly had a full-time job keeping everyone protected and enhanced.

They staggered Dahaka and the skies flashed back to normal, but Dahaka still absorbed ice and water and halved physical attacks. Of course, that mattered very little when it came to how angry Charon was, and Vanille was quick to get Deprotect and Imperil back on so that Dahaka's defenses were lowered even further. Charon couldn't jump up to reach Dahaka, but through his stagger, the large fal'Cie fell to the ground. He bashed the fal'Cie while the others cast spells and helped build the gauge further. At the end of his stagger, Dahaka got a nice little Smite from all of the physical attackers capable of such.

As Dahaka rose once more, he was severely weakened, and it would only take a few more hits to defeat him. He reared up for another attack that resembled Fulminous Firestorm and Bone-chilling Breaker, but this time the energy gathered was a murky green and darkened the air even more than usual.

"Diluvial Plague, brace yourselves!" Charon shouted.

The energy exploded in a black wave that almost suffocated the air, dispelling the group's buffs and hitting everyone with Debrave, Defaith, Deprotect, Poison, Slow, Curse, Deshell as well as healing all debuffs from Dahaka. Everyone was forced to go defensive, Fang, Snow, and Sai becoming Sentinels to buy the others time to recover. Hope and Sazh healed some of the debuffs through canceling them out with Synergist spells, but that also meant they had to charge twice as long for them to get the actual buffs on. Lightning and Vanille were healing the debuffs one by one and the little damage that the attack had done.

But during their distraction, Dahaka cast Faith and then Haste again, and now there was no one to stop him. He swiped at Lightning and Vanille, slowing the healing process down, and they were split between healing damage and curing status ailments. The Sentinels were still the targets, but Dahaka used wide ranged magic spells that hit the others regardless and slowed the recovery process even further. Dahaka then used Fulminous Firestorm again, nearly hitting everyone hard enough to knock them all out. Hope was finally finished with his Synergist moves and joined in the healing, getting them to high enough health just barely so that they survived the Thundaga that Dahaka unleashed next.

Fang took the risk and went Saboteur in order to use Dispel on Dahaka and get rid of his positive buffs before going back into Sentinel mode. Hope put the Barfire and Enfrost spells on once more and it was a last ditch effort to slay the fal'Cie, who fought harder than ever when on the verge of death. Dahaka cast Aeroga, one of the more deadly of his spells, which summoned a tornado that whisked everyone off their feet, tossing them into the air with a gust of damage strong enough to knock a couple of them out.

It was now or never.

Dahaka swiped at them with wide arcs, but Charon jumped over them, feeling his curse biting at him as he pulled at Zanmato. The blade came out, almost screaming with rage. It burned with orange flames that faded to red then to purple at the tips, something that had never happened before, but Charon didn't care so long as it got the job done.

"This is for Asushunamir, you son of a bitch!"

The blade sliced all the way through Dahaka's body, right through his shell, and the wound left was burning with the same flames as the sword. They spread out and overtook the roaring Dahaka as he flew up trying to escape. His body crackled with blue electricity as he burned away, turning to nothing but ashes that then faded and disappeared, all in less than a second.

The winds died down, the column of light from above disappeared, and the portal that had been opening was unsustainable so it collapsed in on itself and left nothing. Shu started to plummet.

Charon dropped his sword and ran.

He sprinted to be just below Shu when they were supposed to hit the floor, landing on his arms but breaking Shu's fall all the same, and that was all that mattered.

Charon carefully pulled Shu into his arms. "Shu.  _Shu!_  Hey, I'm here. Shu!"

Shu's eyes were half open and unresponsive. Their skin was white and chipped like porcelain, lifeless. Their eyes and hair had lost all color and life.

"No…" Charon shook Shu's shoulder. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Shu. Shu! Shu, wake up! It's me! It's Charon! I'm here! I-I made it! I…I told you I'd find you no matter what…I  _told_  you I'll never let…I'll never let anything take you away from me…"

His head fell against Shu's shoulder as he sobbed.

"It was a lie…it was  _all_  a lie…I lied to you, I lied to myself…! I  _can't_  lose you too, I can't survive seeing this over and over and over! You  _can't_  leave me as the only one left!"

The others watched silently, beaten and battered, victorious but failures all the same.

"You said I was  _family!_ " Charon snapped. "You don't leave family behind! You don't leave them alone knowing that if someone was different you might've saved them! You don't be the one to die and get out of that pain - that  _guilt_  - of surviving so easily! You don't be that  _selfish!_ "

Shu didn't move. The exposed wiring of their fal'Cie body had no energy flowing through it. Charon could see the gaping hole that had released Shu's energy and life force, coated in a light layer of green blood. Shu's skin was cracking like glass, and then it began to turn to crystal.

"No…no. No!  _NO!_ "

Shu's body started to fragment, crystal shards floating away into nothingness. Their body began to become transparent and then less solid. It meant Shu was gone, it meant there would be nothing left. It meant that there would be no evidence they had ever lived.

"No, no, Shu don't leave me! Shu!  _Shu!_ "

* * *

Shu was floating on the water, staring up at a dark cloudy sky, glowing with the sunlight behind them. Or maybe just the clouds themselves that were glowing.

"Wake up. Hey, wake up!"

Shu blinked. They  _were_  awake. Weren't they?

"Good, you're conscious. Can you sit up?"

Shu tried to move. It was really exhausting. Their limbs felt like lead, or maybe more like jelly. Or both. Lead jelly. Ew, that sounded gross.

They pulled themself upright, and then they realized that their hair was really heavy from the water soaking in.

"Ah! No~! Are you okay?!"

They ran their hands through their hair, trying to see it even though it was behind them. They pulled it in front of them and started to pet it.

"Aw, you poor thing! I'll give you a  _proper_  bath later."

There was a giggle. "You haven't changed."

Shu looked up and saw a woman with flowing black hair framing a face with sharp features like an elf's. She had pale skin, almost white like a ghost, but beyond that she looked very gentle and nice.

She smiled. "Welcome to Valhalla, the Unseen Realm, land of the goddess and chaos, world of the dead, etc."

Shu stood, wading in the water that went up to their waist. "Do I know you?"

She blinked. "Oh, I suppose I look different when I'm grown up and healthy. Well, if you can call being dead ' _healthy_.'"

She said that so casually, like she was making a joke. "You mean you're dead?"

She nodded. "So are you, little lion."

"Little…" Where had Shu heard that before? "You're…"

"The little serpent. I'm all grown up now!"

"You're…Styx…Styx!"

"Yes! Hi Shu!" She spread her arms out for a hug and then stopped. "Oh, wait! Don't touch me or you'll be stuck here forever."

Shu blinked. They were standing with their arms open, ready to hug her. "Hm? Why the  _what?_ "

Styx pointed at the water where Shu was just noticing that the part they were standing in was regular ocean water but the part Styx was in - and connected to by her dress since she  _was_  water and all - was glowing. There was a clear line between the shimmering water and the regular water, and suddenly Shu felt like they were in the uncool water.

"My river surrounds Valhalla now, it keeps it separate. In here, there's no life or death anymore. Time isn't allowed to touch Valhalla's shore, and so I keep regular life out there and all the weird stuff in here."

"Wow! You got a promotion!"

"Yeah!"

"And in so little time! Oh, wait, there's no time in there, so…"

She waved. "It's okay. It's weird. Living people don't often come here, but if they come here, time  _kinda_  still works for them, but it really doesn't, and…yeah. But you're dead, so if you come in here, your time will stop and you won't be able to leave."

"How did I get here?"

"You died, silly."

"I died? What about  _Charon?!_  Is he here?!" Shu looked around. "He'd never let me die! Not without…" Shu stopped. "Or…maybe he  _would_."

Styx frowned and crossed her arms. "Did Cinthy do something? I swear, he's such an idiot sometimes. He needs someone like you to ground him."

"He's really scared. And I'm tired of him being scared of asking for help!"

"It's your job to smack him upside the head when he does that, okay?"

"You know where he is?"

She nodded. "This is Valhalla. I can see the whole of the timeline here. He's alive, Shu. He's crying over you right now. Well, right now for  _you_  anyway. There is no  _now_  for me, especially if I'm trying to compare to the outside world."

"Charon's…he…" Shu's eyes watered at the idea of Charon seeing them die. "You mean I…I really…?"

"There's something that I wanna show you."

Styx held up her hand and her glowing water began to steam and bubble, creating the steam that shimmered and showed an image. Shu started crying and covered their mouth with their hand as they saw themself and Charon standing together, dressed up all formally in ceremonial garb, looking at each other with more love than Shu had seen in so long, maybe even more. Rei was there, standing in a beautiful purple dress with golden accents and, what Shu referred to as, fal'Cie script that read " _May love reign eternal when all else is ephemeral. To Asushunamir and Whatever-His-Name-Is-Supposed-To-Be-Mataecharonsan-Hyacinthaja_ " (that made Shu laugh when they read it). Her hair was half up in a pony and half braided with ceremonial beads, a circlet around her forehead, smiling behind Shu encouragingly. Sai was there in a simple human-style tux, clapping encouragingly behind Charon. Rei started jumping up and down and throwing a handful of rose petals when Charon leaned in to kiss Shu.

" _I love you_."

Shu cried.

Shu cried because that wasn't possible anymore. That was a future that Shu had lost a long time ago. A future with Rei and Sai still together, a future where Shu and Charon had never made so many mistakes.

It was a future where Charon and Shu had a mar…marry…thing.

"A wedding," Styx corrected. "You get married at a wedding. And that's  _your_ wedding."

"I…I can't…we can't…"

"You  _can_. This is Valhalla. I can see the entire timeline, all the ones that are true and the ones that are possible. You and Cinthy…err,  _Charon_ , you get married for hundreds of years. You never stop loving each other."

Shu stared. "I…you…you're  _sure?_ "

She nodded. "Of course I am! I know my way around here."

The image in Styx's mist shimmered. Shu saw an image of themself sitting blankly in a dark place, a cell. They were still pretty young, but there was a blankness in Shu's eyes.

"What's  _that?_ "

Styx blinked. "Oh, sorry. All the memories of your past and future are here. In giving you your future, I have to give you your past as well. That's you."

"No, it's not. I was never…"

Styx's expression dropped. "I'm sorry, Shu, but you  _were_. This is how Barthandelus got you to make a deal with him."

" _Hotareichan was much more complacent," Barthandelus taunted_.

" _R-Rei?" Shu asked in shock. "W-What…What did you do to my sister?!" Shu demanded, crying_.

" _Nothing, for now," Barthandelus said. "If you wish for it to remain so, you will do as I command._ "

" _Where is Rei?!" Shu shouted desperately_.

" _Do you wish to see her? Then you shall have to perform a simple task for me._ "

"I…I don't remember this," Shu said.

"Barthandelus erased the memory. When Rei left you, the day after the final battle of the Great War, she went to find the crystals of the two l'Cie called Vanille and Fang. She placed them inside Anima's Vestige, but Barthandelus ambushed her, trapping her within the Vestige as well and putting her and Anima into a deep sleep. When you went looking for Rei the next day…well…"

_"Anima, what is this?! Let me through!" Shu pounded on the door to Anima's Vestige hard enough to bust through, but the barrier remained solid_.

" _I'm afraid your companion is in no shape to respond._ "

_Shu turned with a startle to see a man dressed in white robes of royalty. He was no mortal though. Shu could sense that much_.

" _You…you're…_ "

" _I am Barthandelus, fal'Cie of Cocoon._ "

" _Where is Hotareichan? What have you_ done _to her?!_ "

" _I have stored her and Anima away for future use, along with the two servants. You, however…you could be of use to me now._ "

_Barthandelus stepped forward and Shu was trapped against the sealed door. "No…no!_ NO!"

The mist dissipated into the air.

"I'm sorry, Shu," Styx said.

"What did…what did he do to me?"

Styx shrugged. "A small bit of torture, but it was mostly the mentioning of your sister that drove you over the edge. You went mad, Shu. Absolutely insane with grief."

Shu took a moment to process it all. "So…how did I get out? How did I just… _integrate_  back into the world?"

"He just let you go once he had what he wanted. With that code name of his, he could control your mental state as well as shut you down. But he couldn't control you like Barthandelus could my brother. You still  _fought_ , Shu. You didn't agree to the deal willingly, you were simply driven to your limits. The reason you can control my brother is because he gave everything he had to you, he gave you his future because he didn't have anything else. Even if he did it unconsciously, he put all of his hopes for the future in you. With Barthandelus, he put all of his hopes for the future  _with me_  into the  _king_ , and therefore everything he cared for that would ever define his life. He found something else to live for, and that's what now makes you his master rather than Barthandelus. And you? Your sister's gone too, and that means that Barthandelus has lost his leverage over you - the prospect of seeing your sister again, being with her."

"So…so we're both free to choose our futures. And the moment we are…we ruin it."

Styx shook her head. "You'll get better, I promise."

"But…but I'm dead."

She smiled sadly. "You're not welcome in Valhalla yet, little one. I'll see you again, one day, but hopefully not for a long, long time."

Shu looked up. "Wait, if  _you're_  here, is Rei-?"

"You have to go now or you'll never leave. You'll always be a sibling to me, Shu. My best friend. None of it was ever your fault, and tell Charon it wasn't his either. And just…tell him I say 'Hi.' Give him a big hug for me, Shu, and look after him. Promise me, you'll look after him."

The water surrounding Shu began to swirl like a whirlpool and Shu began to sink. Or maybe the water was simply rising around them.

"Promise me, Shu! Promise me you'll take care of him!"

"I-I promise!"

The water consumed them.

* * *

Shu's sword had fallen away when Dahaka had captured them, falling to the bottom of the tower and embedding itself into the large crystal at the center of the first tier. It had rested there, a large Damascene blade separated from its wielder for the first time in many years. Shu had never lost their weapon, they had always kept it with them ever since they learned that it was best to keep it close.

It seemed to be a bad omen, as the only time that Shu had ever lost it was the time that they had died.

Now, the blade stood alone and away from its master, beginning to lose its shine as though it was dying along with Shu.

Then, the blade flashed to life. It rose up from the crystal it was embedded in and flew to the top of the tower.

It was going home.

* * *

"No…no. No!  _NO!_ "

Shu's body started to fragment, crystal shards floating away into nothingness. Their body began to become transparent and then less solid. It meant Shu was gone, it meant there would be nothing left. It meant that there would be no evidence they had ever lived.

"No, no, Shu don't leave me! Shu!  _Shu!_ "

There was a crash. Everyone braced themselves for another fight, but instead they saw a blur of motion from a large blade. Shu's weapon smashed into the ground in front of Charon where the remains of Shu were fading away. And then the energy that had been Shu's body stopped dissolving into the air and instead circled the weapon, reversing the sequence that had been Shu's death. Their body reformed, how standing straight with their hands gripping the base of their sword. Their eyes were closed, as though they'd fallen asleep standing. They still looked battered and beaten, but their body was reforming for a reason.  _Right?_

Charon got to his feet. "Shu? Shu, can you hear me?"

Hope heard a small spark behind him and turned to see Charon's colorful and powerful Zanmato. It seemed to be completely normal. Maybe he'd imagined the sound. But then Zanmato sparked again. And then it started to hum.

"Uh… _guys?!_ " Hope shouted urgently.

Lightning was the first to turn, hearing the worry in Hope's tone. Her weapon was still drawn from the battle and gripped tightly for a fight. Sai turned just in time to see that Zanmato was moving as though possessed, twisting on the ground and then starting to slide across the ground. The others turned just in time to see Zanmato shoot through the air, past them all, and right to-

"NO!"

Shu was struck right in the chest by Zanmato, their eyes opening in shock as their grip on their sword released and they fell to the ground. Charon grabbed Shu and tore Zanmato out, shoving it into his sheath and tossing said sheath away.

"Shu. Shu, can you hear me?!"

The wound from Zanmato was glowing with the same red and purple energy that had killed all of Zanmato's other victims. It was pulsing slightly inside of Shu's body, almost like a heartbeat.

"Ch…Chare?"

There was a wave of hope rippling through the l'Cie in the form of a chorus of gasps and muttering.

Shu took a deep breath and the color began to return to their eyes and hair. Their skin still remained pale, but the cracks were beginning to fade just slightly so they were barely noticeable. Shu coughed hard, feeling the pain of their damaged body all at once and almost passing out again if it weren't for Charon. Shu heard the panic in his voice, felt the touch of his skin through the numbing pain, felt the cool energy of his power that comforted them.

Charon pulled Shu to rest in his lap, his body, and his arm. He tried to make Shu comfortable and pull them close enough to examine them.

"Shu?"

"Chare," Shu wheezed.

Charon let out a deep sigh of relief, and Shu felt his entire body relax and tremble with exhaustion. "I thought…I thought you were gone…!" He rested his forehead against Shu's. "I thought you were  _dead_ , you stupid fool!"

"Sorry…"

"No. No, don't apologize." Charon sighed, his voice breaking. "That's  _my_  job. I'm so, so  _sorry_. I'm sorry for  _everything_. For the lies, for Rei, for my stupidity, for my confusion, for everything that ever hurt you.  _I'm sorry!_  I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

Shu smiled. "It's okay. I know, Charon. I'm sorry, too. Oh, and Styx says 'Hi.'"

Charon froze and stared Shu in the eyes, but there was no joking in them. Charon knew what Shu looked like when they were kidding, and this wasn't it.

"You…you saw her?"

Shu gave a small nod. "I was dead and then…I wasn't. I think…I think she saved me."

Charon's eyes watered and he gripped Shu in a tight hug. "Thank you…t-thank you…"

Shu patted his arm lightly. "She already knows, Chare. Just wait until you hear about…" Shu coughed. "…about what she's…" *Cough* "…doing."

Charon cupped Shu's face. "You're still hurt. We need to get to Oerba,  _now_. Shu needs shelter, a place to rest and heal."

"Shu's in no condition to be fighting," Sai said. "We've made it to the top of the tower and gotten rid of Dahaka, but how are we supposed to get back down?"

"The broken part of the tower," Shu said, pointing weakly. "It'll…" *Cough* "…take us down. It can disconnect from the broken elevator and-"

"And give us a free ride right to Oerba, no walking involved," Charon finished. "Shu, you're a genius!"

Shu smiled. "I know."

"I see the track over there," Lightning pointed. "But where's the cabin?"

"The Menhirrim can get one and attach it," Charon jumped in quickly. "Hey!"

A Menhirrim statue flashed into existence in front of them, looming over them with its weapon.

"Look who's back," Snow exclaimed.

Sazh smiled with a nod of approval.

The Menhirrim whispered to them.

Shu giggled. "He's saying thanks. 'At last, we are free. We go now, to-" *Cough* "-to hunt down evil where it hides.'"

Hope walked forward. "So I guess that means there are  _still_  more monsters like  _that_  one out there."

" _Sounds_  like it," Lightning agreed. " _Somewhere_  out there on Gran Pulse."

"Hira, I ask one more thing of you," Charon said.

The Menhirrim whispered his response and Charon nodded.

"Thank you."

An elevator cabin rolled up the elevator that was part of the broken half of the tower. The Menhirrim said a final farewell before he flashed away. Vanille waved and Sazh chuckled, scratching the back of his head.

"Gone just like  _that_."

"Bye!" Vanille called. "Bye!"

"For a big hunk of  _rock_ , that thing  _sure_  can  _move_."

"Did you say that thing's name was ' _Hira?_ '" Snow repeated.

"It's cute," Shu smiled.

Charon nodded. "They named themselves. The Menhirrim don't have to guard this tower anymore, they're meant for more than that. They're going out and hoping to do for others what we did for them, liberate Gran Pulse of the tyrants that have taken over since the collapse of order after the Great War."

"Guess they're  _just_  doing what they can too," Fang said, hands on her hips. "Trying to ' _save the world_.'"

"Yeah, well it's  _not_  all on  _them_ ," Lightning declared. "Last time I checked,  _we_  are  _still_  in this fight."

"Let's get going," Sai suggested. "We wanna be in this fight, we'd best take a little time to recuperate. Magic only goes so far in healing. I think we need a  _mental_ break too."

Sai grabbed Zanmato, knowing that Charon would be hesitant to go anywhere near the blade with Shu in their hands. Charon carefully picked up Shu, pulling them onto his back where they could rest as peacefully as possible. Charon stomped and the elevator took them back down. They headed over to the edge of the tower where the elevator down the broken half was located.

Sazh went up to the edge of the tower, looking down at the small village below.

Hope turned and pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "Oerba's right down there, then, isn't it?"

Vanille nodded. "Yep!"

"So what's it like?" Snow asked.

Vanille stepped forward in thought. "Weeeeell…it's…kinda  _small_. But it's  _warm_  and  _green_  and  _very_  nature-y!"

"Around the fal'Cie, it was flowers as  _far_  as you could see, huh?" Fang added.

"Lots of plants," Shu agreed. "It was cozy and nice and the plants there were so kind."

"View from  _here_ …" Sazh began, standing at the edge to look down at the village. "…ain't so rosy, I'm sorry to say."

"What…?" Shu asked nervously. "Charon, go. Show me."

Charon walked forward so that Shu could get a good view of the village from over his shoulder, and Shu was speechless at the sight. "No…this…this isn't…that's not Oerba."

"Yes it is, Shu."

"No…no I was just here a few weeks ago…! I…I've been going back and forth for centuries…"

Charon sighed. "No. You haven't."

Shu turned their head in surprise. "What?"

"You've been in stasis for 600 years, implanted with fake memories of the last few centuries by Barthandelus."

Shu could only stare in shock. "No…no you're lying! I…I remember-!"

"You remember what Barthandelus  _wanted_  you to remember. You were rescued by the Cavalry, a purposeful ploy to help you aid the l'Cie in destroying Cocoon."

Shu clenched his fist. "And you  _knew_  this?! You knew that everything that I remembered over these years was a lie?!"

He shook his head. "I didn't know for sure, but I suspected. When you told me you'd managed to escape Barthandelus, that all your memories of going back and forth were hazy, that you felt like all those centuries you just stopped feeling anything, I got suspicious."

"Why not bring it up earlier?" Shu asked meekly, their anger fading.

Charon shrugged. "There was never a good time, and it didn't seem to have a big impact on things."

Shu stared off into the distance in thought. "So…that means…Styx was right."

"What do you mean?"

Shu shook their head. "I'll explain everything when we get there."

Vanille and Fang's faces fell at Shu's reaction.

"You wanna wait here?" Lightning suggested to them.

Vanille shook her head firmly. "No!" She looked forward bravely. "I need to see it for _myself._ "

The two walked forward solemnly to see the ruined village that had been wiped out many centuries ago. Down below, the village that had once been Oerba was now covered in a thick layer of crystal dust. There was no greenery, no plants, no color, no life that could be seen.

"It's all gone…" Vanille said, clasping her hands together in front of her.

"Every  _trace_  of color," Fang agreed. She put a hand to her hip angrily. "We're chasing _shadows!_  This  _whole_ idea of losing our brands is  _hopeless!_ "

"There's  _gotta_  be a way," Snow declared.

"Let's keep on looking," Hope said. "That's what we  _came_  here for. We  _all_  agreed, and now we're here. We need to get down there for some sanctuary anyway, so we might as well take a look around. You never know, we may be surprised with what we find."

"You think…you think it's  _really_  possible?" Vanille asked, hopelessness sinking into her voice.

After everything that they'd seen of Vanille, Gran Pulse was showing just how afraid she really was of their future.

Hope took her hand firmly. "Sure.  _Anything_  is."

Sai smiled sadly at the two of them. Once upon a time, it had been  _Vanille_  doing everything she could to keep  _Hope's_  spirits up. Hope had grown a lot, and so had Vanille, in a way. Vanille had been forced to face the looming future they were fighting, and Hope had learned how to fight it in the first place.

Vanille chuckled and smiled at him, nodding, and he returned the favor.

"There's  _no_  going back," Lightning reminded them. "We don't have time for another detour."

"You don't think I  _know_  that?" Fang responded.

"Let's go," Charon urged. "We need to get to a safe place and recuperate. Shu's about to pass out here."

"No, I'm… _not_ …" Shu protested weakly.

And then they promptly fell asleep.

The headed over to the elevator. Only Fang remained, staring down at the village.

Sazh stretched and then tapped her on the shoulder. "Come on."

Fang stared for one final moment and took a deep breath, preparing herself for the sight she was about to see. This was her home, but it wasn't. Oerba had died a long time ago, and Fang wasn't sure what she was going to see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos if you can spot the reference ;)


	38. Descending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Sai opened the door, he was greeted with the sight of Charon and Shu jumping apart and trying to fix their disheveled appearances after having been making out for the gods know how long.
> 
> "Hi Sai," Shu squeaked. "W-Wh-Wha-Wha-What's up?"
> 
> He rolled his eyes. "At least you weren't having sex. I'll be in the living room repairing Bhakti. The others will be back soon. If you're gonna do stuff, do it in the bedroom and close the curtain. Better yet, you might wanna move to another place for the night under the excuse of Shu's recovery. Best of luck you two. And when you name your children, I expect to be consulted."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second part of a double update. Don't skip the previous chapter, that seems to happen when I double update for some reason.
> 
> Ascending and Descending. Symbolism!
> 
> Cheesy goodness, I ramble, you know the works.
> 
> :P

"Now  _that_  looks like an easier way to get where we're going," Sazh said, looking down the path of the elevator.

"Let's take it," Snow said eagerly. "Wouldn't want you to throw your back out  _climbing_ , old man."

"You  _really_  are a charmer, aren't ya?"

Charon held his hand out and the doors whirred open. The cabin was lit and still active with power. The others piled in and Sai and Lightning did maintenance checks to see if everything was in order.

"Looks like we're all good," Sai said.

"We better be," Lightning said cautiously. "We're putting our lives on the line here."

"Hira and the other Menhirrim would've never chosen a dangerous elevator," Charon said. "This thing should be able to connect and disconnect to the wall there, meaning once we get to the bottom, this thing'll turn into a mini Atomos that we can drive around anywhere. And it's a little less bulky than Atomos."

Charon let Sai hold Shu as the others took positions in the elevator.

"So how is this supposed to work?" Snow asked. "You can't see outside of this thing."

"I can. It's like Atomos, just as I said. I'll be able to steer it, and thanks to the wide surface area of the wheel, we'll be able to easily ride over those crystal sand dunes we saw back there. Hold on tight."

Charon put his hand on the controls and closed his eyes, connecting with the technology. He seemed to have a knack for it, connecting to technology like Shu connected with plants. Another piece of evidence that they were opposites, but together they could probably solve any situation.

The lever that activated the elevator moved itself, the doors to the elevator closing and a jolt going through the cabin as they began to descend. It was a smooth ride to the bottom of the broken half of the tower, and then they felt like they were on a roller coaster as the wheel rode over the sandy dunes and closer to Oerba. After a short ride, the wheel came to a stop.

"That's it, can't go any further," Charon reported. "The path is too small for the wheel thanks to the mountains, but it's a relatively short walk. Let's hurry."

The doors opened, and Lightning was the first to jump out, Vanille and Hope carefully climbing down with Fang right behind them, Sazh and Snow going out the other door and coming around, stretching as they looked around, while Sai and Charon worked together to careful extract Shu. Charon gave Shu another piggyback ride as Shu muttered small things about chickens.

"What the heck are they dreaming about?" Sai wondered.

Charon chuckled. "Dunno. But it's hilarious."

"You love it."

Sai walked off to join the others, but Charon was sighing lightly behind him. "Yeah. Yeah, I do."

It had been too long since Charon had let himself admit that, to admit to loving anything about Shu. The truth was, he did. He loved every little thing, how Shu breathed, how Shu slept. He loved the beating of their heart against his, the dead weight in his arms as Shu lightly snored, sleeping with their mouth open and speaking in their sleep. After everything they'd gone through, it was pretty mundane, as well as a breath of fresh air. With all the fighting and crying and emotional roller coasters, the hint of a normal life made Charon…happy.

Cocoon looked much bigger now that they were growing closer to it. In the crystal dust, there were actual crystals still intact, clinging to the rock that was exposed in the mountains like weeds. Maybe they were crystal weeds. Shu would be unhappy to know that their plants had turned to crystal.

Charon had been right, it was a pretty short walk until they reached the village, but there were some Cie'th along the path, Vampires just like the ones from Taejin's tower, but also Taxim - who had a Wail attack that could leave any within the area with Daze. When they reached the town itself, there were even more Cie'th roaming the streets, Vampires, Varcolaci, Taxims, Chonchon bat things, as well as little weird ones that were just heads and hands connected to them - Seekers. No matter how weird, they still hit pretty hard with Magic Blasts where they gathered energy in their big hands, launched themselves up, and then fell back down to slam the energy into a wide area blast. All it took was teamwork to defeat them though.

"This doesn't look good," Sazh muttered.

"Clear the area," Charon ordered. "The Cie'th here aren't very frequent in numbers."

Oerba was in ruins, that was clear enough, but it looked better than Sai had predicted. There were buildings made of metal that had survived the long years, rather than pure stone buildings that would have been crumbling at this point. There were a bunch of windmills that were actually still turning, as well as a large bridge that led over to the crystal dunes across the sea a distance away. The ocean still continued, of course, all the way to the horizon and beyond. There was, what  _appeared_  to be, an oil ring still standing in the distance over the water. The bridge seemed to lead to that as well, but it had been broken off before reaching either of its destinations.

There was a large tree overgrown in the village, and Shu woke up because apparently, it had been talking to them with a loud voice.

"Inside voice, Adam," Shu mumbled. Apparently, the tree had apologized. "Thanks. It's okay, you're forgiven."

They found a Waystone beside the large tree; Snow, Lightning, and Vanille heading over to handle that mission. Apparently, it was a large swarm of Ceratosaurs, and the ground shook from the Ruinga spells that Lightning had recently learned, blowing all those fish-frogs up.

"Well that sounded fun," Sai said to them when they got back.

Snow cracked his neck, rubbing it. "Yeah, well those little critters pack a punch. Had to defend the entire way through while being healed by Vanille. Thanks though."

She nodded. "No problem."

"Your head's hard enough to take it," Lightning shrugged. "Anyway, it wasn't a very interesting battle to note."

They headed to the village center where the houses were located, scattered about in different places like trailer homes, a couple stacked on top of each other.

"Which is your house?" Hope asked.

"What do you  _mean_  which is  _ours?_ " Vanille exclaimed. " _All_  of them! They're  _all_  ours."

"Yep," Fang agreed. "Everyone in the village lived together."

"One big happy family?" Snow asked.

"One heck of a lot of places to hang your hat," Sazh admired, crossing his arms.

"So, where can we stay?" Sai asked. "Particularly a place where we can get Shu their rest."

"Come on, this way," Fang said.

She guided them to the largest of the homes, going up the stairs and opening the door. Vanille was the last to follow, lagging behind and looking up at the place they had grown up.

"We're  _back_ …"

The others looked back for her, and she ran to catch up.

"So…you wanna take a look around?" Hope asked. "While we're waiting for Shu to recover, I mean."

"We'd  _better_ ," Fang said. "We gotta  _find_  something to help us  _lose_  these brands."

"That's not the  _only_  reason we're here," Sazh piped up. "You're finally  _home_. Make the  _most_  of it."

"You never thought that you'd make it back, admit it," Sai said. " _I_  was skeptical that you'd ever get here, but here we are. Ruins or not, this place is beautiful, and you might as well enjoy the fact that this is your home and we made it here against all odds."

There was a Vetala or two inside the houses, and in all honesty, it was as annoying as finding a spider, just sitting there in your house, doing nothing, maybe moving a bit, but they were in your freaking  _house_. It took a small debate on whether or not to just let the guy stay there and just let him be or to jump in a fight. Needless to say, finding a  _Ghoul_  Cie'th just slumped over, unsure if it was alive or dead, was slightly more unnerving - even scarier than an active Vetala that was trying to kill you.

"It's just a Cie'th on the verge of becoming a Cie'th Stone," Charon shrugged. "Ignore it. Now, where are the beds?"

Fang showed them up the stairs and to the second floor where there was actually a very cozy place, relatively safe from the elements. There was a place to hang your coat and lockers where someone might store something, with a pretty advanced electrical box up on the wall, a kitchen filled with old pots that definitely suggested communal cooking, shelves full of the belongings of the previous owners, a vanity with jewelry, a cool U shaped couch, windows that were resistant to temperature, fans, a clock, lights, lamps, tile decorations on the walls, and a carpeted floor that Sai could easily imagine groups of people gathering together on for family events - nice a cozy. There were books, vases, and a little rocking chair with a chocobo stuffed animal (that one Shu perked up for because they grabbed the chocobo and hugged it tight) on the shelves, and even a picture of Fang and Vanille on the table next to a necklace that resembled Vanille's. Sai even noticed electrical outlets and a proper ventilation system. Oerba was pretty advanced, despite how primitive it might've seemed on the outside.

"Ah! Bhakti!" Vanille exclaimed.

She kneeled down to a small little rover robot with cylinder eyes popping out of its body and the lids that opened up to reveal those eyes resembling eyebrows. It had an antenna tail and four little legs with wheels on them. Somehow, it still had power and recognized Vanille, rolling forward to her across the floor and making small beeping noises.

"Friend of yours?" Sazh asked.

"Yeah!" She petted the small chassis between Bhakti's eyes. "You're okay. I was worried."

The little machine whirred and beeped before its little legs collapsed from underneath it, the antenna fell back down thanks to gravity, and its eyes fell closed with one final beep.

"Huh?" Vanille exclaimed in disappointment.

"He wanted to say goodbye," Fang said, a hand on her hip.

"He's not ready for the scrap heap just yet," Sazh said, stepping forward.

Sai kneeled down and picked up the small drone. "He's a bit worse for wear, yeah, but nothing that can't be fixed. You called him Bhakti?" Vanille nodded. "We can get him up and running again if we have the right parts, and since these mobile homes of yours are so well built, there's bound to be some protected parts around here somewhere that are still in good enough condition. I've always wanted to study Pulse tech, and this is the  _perfect_  opportunity."

"We should be able to find all of the necessary replacement parts in Oerba," Fang said.

Vanille hopped up. "Yay! Let's hurry!"

Charon, meanwhile, took Shu to the bedrooms where he found triple-decker beds. There was a modesty curtain, but beyond that, there was little to no privacy. Charon took Shu over to the bunk beds, setting them on the lowest one on the left side next to the window so that Shu would have the sun, but Shu protested that they wanted top bunk (almost as though they had practice calling dibs on it before, which they probably did) and Charon chuckled, unable to resist. He pulled Shu into his arms again, taking a deep breath and pushing upwards. He expected a surge of pain, even when he knew that Dahaka's curse had been lifted when the fal'Cie had died, but he lifted just as easily as normal. He gently hovered Shu up to the top bunk and set them down.

"Thanks, Chare-Bear," They said.

"I told you not to call me that," He said lightly.

"When we're alone," Shu corrected. "The others are going on hunting missions and looking for robot parts.  _You_  get to look after  _me_."

Charon smiled. "I'm fine with that. Now, let me see if I can't get this place up and running. The circuitry is still mostly intact, but the water supply is covered in crystal dust. I'll go see if I can filter it out and get you some water."

Charon headed outside first to get the water running, checking the system for clogs by running his hand along the side of the building. On the bright side, all the pipes were in good condition, on the bad side, the crystal dust mixed with the water had settled into the pipes, creating major clogs like blood clots. It made for unhealthy water as well as a slow stream of it. Good thing he was good with stuff like this. He headed down to where the pipes met the water, digging through the crystal dust that had settled in the water. There were filters already on the pipes, but they had long since expired and weren't meant for this concentration of crystal dust. Charon placed a Kozuka on the end of the pipe. It shifted and expanded into a filter on the pipe for future use. He sent a small gust of destructive smoke down the pipe to get rid of the crystal clots, flying into the house again to turn in the faucet and see the smoke pour out, much more than he had put in since it was turning all of the crystal to smoke as well.

He waved clean one of the large pots and collected some clean water, the stream working perfectly again. He returned to the sleeping area, moving a shelf over so that he could keep the water close to Shu in case they needed it. He flew up to Shu but was terrified to find that Shu was gone. He stayed calm, flying out and up above the village to think about where Shu would be. He instantly remembered the large, overgrown tree that Shu had spoken to before - Adam. He flew over there quickly, touching down and searching around the large roots.

"Shu?"

He had to fly around the larger roots that would've normally prevented anyone else from getting past and rounded the tree to find Shu resting in a little bed of greenery, sleeping against the tree trunk and protected by its roots. Charon sighed in relief, realizing that this was probably a good place for Shu. He flew back to the house and grabbed the large pot of water, hurry back and setting it near Shu. The roots around Shu tightened their grip on them protectively when Charon approached, but it caused Shu to stir and wave for them to loosen their grip again.

"It's just Charon, Addie. He's good."

"Addie?" Charon asked.

"Adam. He's protective of me. He was my first tree. He's like my eldest son. He's been looking after this village ever since I left."

"That means he's…hundreds of years old?"

Shu nodded. "Yup. Trees can do that, especially  _my_  trees."

He chuckled. "I have no doubt about that. Anyway, tell Adam that you need water. I brought some, freshly filtered of all that crystal."

Shu held their hands out. "Gimme, gimme."

Charon chuckled and handed over the pot. Shu promptly stuck their face into the pot and absorbed the water through their skin and hair. Yup, that was Shu.

A moment later, Shu popped back out, looking refreshed. "Much better! Come here, cuddle time."

Charon was allowed past the wall of roots and scooted close to Shu, wrapping an arm around their waist and leaning against them.

Shu chuckled. "Only a near death experience will make you cuddle me. I'll keep that in mind next time you're filled with crushing self-doubt."

"Please don't. I don't wanna see that again."

"I'll try. But you really  _were_  an idiot."

"I know. I still am one."

Shu shifted just slightly. "You should've let me in sooner."

"I know."

"You should've let me help you."

"I know."

"You should've forgiven yourself."

"I know."

"You shouldn't have shut me out and tried to handle everything on your own and made yourself so unhappy because you were afraid of love!" Shu's grip on him tightened and so did the tree roots around them. "You shouldn't have made me  _suffer_  like that just because  _you_  were an  _idiot!_  I hate you! I hate every fiber of your being!"

"And you have every  _right_  to!" Charon snapped.

"Shut up! It's  _my_  turn! I hate you! I that I  _can't_  hate you! I hate that I still love you! That I still trust you! That I would still do anything for you! That if you said you loved me, I would forgive you without a second thought because, by Etro, I love you and I can't ever stop! I hate that after everything that you've put me through, I can't find any way to hate you, you son of a…"

Shu broke off into sobs and Charon hugged them angrily. "I hate  _myself_. I hate everything that I've done, and I hate that this pain, this  _guilt_ , it won't go away! I don't know what to do, but it won't stop and every time I look at you, it just gets worse because I'm reminded that I hurt  _you!_  You, the perfect angel that's above me in so many ways, that I had for just a short amount of time but who made me  _happy_  when I'd been broken for  _so_  long. You fixed me, a broken wreck, the moment I met you. I have no idea how you did it, I still don't know how you do it, but you brighten the world around you, you help people without even meaning to just thanks to your presence, and when I thought that my life could never be fixed, that I could never have happiness again, you come along and take centuries' worth of misery and blow it all away just like that. You  _saved_  me, Shu, and I…what did I do in return? I dragged you down with me into this pit of despair."

"I wouldn't ask that it was different," Shu admitted quietly.

"I highly doubt that."

"I wouldn't wish that I'd never met you, that I'd never loved you, that I'd never been through all of this heartbreak with you."

"I killed Rei."

" _I_  know that,  _you_  know that, but  _regretting_  it won't  _change_  it. We should be  _honoring_  her memory, not…not letting it drive us apart." Shu sniffled. "I know that if she were here, watching us like this, she'd be telling me not to be sad over her, to not let her death come between us. The last thing she would've wanted was to make me lose you because of her. I wanna remember her in a good way, not as the thing that made you and I…"

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry…and…and what else can I say to make you know I  _mean_  it…?"

"It's okay. I believe you. I should loathe your presence, your voice, your words and touch, but I can't. If it comes back to bite me later, then…it would hurt so much. I…I don't think I'd be able to go on…b-because I love you s-so much and I can never stop…"

"Do you know how much it hurt when you hated me? I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think. It felt like someone was constantly stabbing me through the stomach. No, being stabbed would be a mercy compared to how it felt without you." Charon rested his head against Shu's shoulder. "Is it supposed to get easier?"

Shu shook their head. "No. It's supposed to hurt like hell. 'Forever does not make loss forgettable, only bearable.'"

For some reason, Charon found himself giggling. He had gone mad, he was sure of it. "This…this is so stupid.  _I_  was so stupid. I've been dreading this conversation so much that I…and now we're here and it's… _nothing_  like I expected."

"You expected more yelling and heartbreak?"

"A little more, yeah."

Shu hiccupped. "Don't you  _ever_  do that again.  _Never!_ "

"Never," Charon promised. " _Never_  again, I swear. It was hell for me too, you know. It still is. I don't know how to make the pain go away. I just know that losing you will make it permanent. I don't know what I'd do without you. You're the only one I have left."

"What about…?" Shu stopped themself. "I mean…I guess…wow. I never thought about it that way. I've been so wrapped up in myself that I…I didn't realize…I'm sorry, Chare."

He shook his head. "I'm the one that's been pushing you to your limits."

"That's no excuse."

"You've had to put on a brave face for a long time now, and I just made that worse."

"You've been through more than enough too. Can we just call it squaresies and start over? We're all that each other has left, and we need to stick together."

He nodded. "I'd like that."

"Can we also just…stay like this? Just for a little while."

Charon nodded without a word, relaxing against Shu like he hadn't done in ages. His hand began to tremble, his body screamed that this wasn't what he deserved, but Shu just gripped his closed fist without opening their eyes.

"You've been having panic attacks, huh?"

"Yeah…I guess so. I never realized they were panic attacks, but…I guess they were, huh? Sai says that he had to be trained to help people going through trauma and stuff. He said that he can't fix everything, but he  _did_  know how to help a little. It got especially worse when we started arguing, like… _really_  arguing."

"You should've told me. There's an herb I use that makes good tea for post-traumatic stress."

"Really?"

Shu nodded. "Back when I got lost that one time, the time that I met Styx, I started to have panic attacks all the time. Every time Rei went out of my sight, I would start to feel terrified that she was gone again, that I was all alone and that she wasn't coming back for me. I didn't wanna be alone." Shu turned and held up Charon's twitching hand. "It's usually a tremor in your hand." Shu poked him in the stomach. "Or one in your gut. Or both." Shu traced their hand up his torso to his chest. "There's this twisting in your chest that makes it hard to breathe." They slid their hand up to the back of Charon's head, running their fingers through his hair. "And then there's this pain in your head sometimes, your mind wandering away to the darkest times of your life and making you believe the worst. It's the relinquishing of logic, when you're no longer in control of yourself. At least, that's how it is for me. I'm trapped inside a pit of my own sorrow, running from something that's inside of me. Like there's a demon inside of me, dashing around and blowing stuff up and I can't get him out."

"So…what makes it better?"

Shu shrugged. "My sister, for one. She knew what had happened and she helped me through it. She would always hug me without a word when I started to cry, she'd always know the right thing to say when I was afraid of something." Shu traced their finger over the back of Charon's hand. "It takes having the right people by your side. I guess that was why when Barthandelus took me, I just lost it. That little demon did so much damage that he broke out."

Charon sat up. "You remember what happened to you?"

"A little. I guess it's as good a time as any to compare notes about what happened back at the tower."

Charon nodded.

* * *

"Zanmato…brought me back to life?" Shu repeated as they walked back to the house.

They figured that the others would be waiting for them there, and Adam apparently had the entire village under his roots - or rather,  _above_  his roots, so he could be there if anything were to threaten them.

"Your big sword reformed your body, but you only woke up when Zanmato stabbed you," Charon said.

Shu looked down at their body, the large gap in their torso still there, but the smaller cuts in much better condition than before. "That explains the light."

"What light?"

Charon looked closer to see the dim red and purple glow inside the wiring of Shu's fal'Cie body.

"Zanmato gave me back my life," Shu guessed.

"That…that's impossible. Zanmato should only be able to kill, not…"

"Not revive? What if that's only because you never learned  _how?_  I mean, when did you first discover Zanmato's power?"

"Back when…back when Barthandelus first enlisted me. He summoned Zanmato from my chest, said that it was always inside me and that it would help me do his dirty work."

"Zanmato was born from a time when you were helpless, filled with rage, had everything you'd ever loved taken from you. It was a dark point in your life, and it helped you by having a dark purpose - the destruction of any enemies who got in your way and threatened your happiness. But you couldn't use it against Barthandelus because he had that deal with you. Now, you…you've mended your life, just a little. You used Zanmato on me, or at least Zanmato was summoned to help me unconsciously, because you loved me, because it was being used to preserve the light in your life rather than cutting down the darkness."

"How philosophical."

"You love it. But it's true. I think that Zanmato isn't just a blade for killing, it's a blade that reflects you and your desires, wanting to protect you. When your life was falling apart, and you were trapped in a dark place, Zanmato was destructive and chaotic. Now that that's changed, thanks to me no less, Zanmato can be a force for good and help carve a path to a future that you  _want_."

Charon hesitated for a moment before casually taking Shu's hand. "Well, what future did  _you_  have in mind?"

Shu smiled. "Actually, that relates to something that I saw with Styx, but I might as well get the darker stuff outta the way first, so we can end on a high note." Shu took a deep breath. "Styx showed me that in my captivity, Barthandelus simply used the prospect of Rei being in his possession to get me to make that deal with him, but I never gave in fully and so that's why he can't control me like he can you. Like I told you with my panic attacks, I was always terrified of being without Rei, and hearing that Barthandelus had taken her…there was this unstoppable tremor that went through me, so much fear and pain that just wouldn't go away. The one person who always comforted me was gone, and I was terrified of being alone, of being without my sister. Eventually, the pressure and fear got to me and…I gave in."

"But Barthandelus kept you a lot longer than any of us had thought, he kept you for all these centuries and then released you out into the world to specifically guide the l'Cie and help them become stronger, so they could destroy Cocoon. You thought that you had been going back and forth between Cocoon and Pulse in your search for your sister, but that was all a lie. Who knows what else he did to you…?"

"Either way, we ended up together, for all the ups and downs. When I was dead, I met Styx. Her death brought her to a place called 'Valhalla,' where there was no life or death. It was complicated. But she called it the Unseen Realm, as well as the land of the goddess and chaos, uh…oh! And the world of the dead."

"So  _that_  was the place that the Maker wanted a portal to get to. It seems that when the four of us die we got there, and with that ritual that Dahaka used, he could harness the power from our deaths and make a portal to get there. But it never would've worked with only you. To use Dahaka's method, it would've taken all four of us, and since both Styx and Rei are gone, that wouldn't work."

"So, the four of us equate to all of the people on Cocoon - since Barthandelus's method requires the destruction of Cocoon to create that portal."

"I guess so."

"Oh! Now for the  _good_  news! Styx also said that from Valhalla, she could see the entire timeline, all the futures and the possible futures. She showed me…"

Shu hesitated. Did they really want to get Charon's hopes up about their future by telling him what they saw? Styx  _did_  say that she could see real futures as well as  _possible_  futures. What if their wedding was just a possible future that wouldn't come to pass?  _Rei_  was there, smiling and cheering for Shu and Charon. She had been beautiful in her ceremonial dress. Shu wanted to see that so badly, it nearly caused them to break out into tears again in front of Charon. But the odds that Rei would come back were low. After what happened with the Phantom Rei, Shu wasn't sure that they would be able to fully believe why or how Rei would come back from the dead. Styx didn't answer Shu's question about Rei, if she was there in Valhalla too. Shu didn't want to get their hopes up, and there was always the possibility if Rei was still alive, it wasn't for good reasons like with Phantom Rei. It would be better for them both if they didn't expect their wedding, expect Rei, get all of their hopes up, only to be let down. If their wedding  _did_  happen, it wouldn't be because it was ordained or something - it would be because they  _wanted_  it to happen, both of them, together. If Rei came back, Shu didn't want to be fooled again just because they believed a possible future that wasn't guaranteed.

"She showed me that we would get back together, like this, here in the village. Like…kissing and stuff."

"Did she now?"

"Yes." The two of them started climbing the stairs to the house. "T-The point is…we make up. And…she also made me promise to take care of you. I promised her I'd take care of you, and I meant it."

Charon relaxed, like all the weight that had been on his shoulders all slid off. "We're messed up, we've got tons of demons, but I think it's time just move past all that junk." Charon opened the door, ignoring the slumped over Ghoul sitting on the wall beside it, and waved for Shu to walk in behind him. "I need a break," He sighed.

"Me too."

"Oh, just  _kiss_  me already!"

Charon grabbed Shu and kissed them, pushing them up against the wall and finally allowing himself to enjoy the feeling of having Shu with him again. He said eat it to the rules, to whatever the heck 'the right thing' was supposed to be and just kissed Shu like there was nothing else in the world. To his delight, Shu relaxed into his grip and reciprocated, wrapping their hands around his neck and pulling their legs up around his waist. Their kiss was desperate, like it was the only thing keeping them breathing, a gasp of air when they had been drowning for so long.

Yeah, this was fine.

* * *

"Everything's different, but it's still home," Vanille said firmly.

"Okay, we've got Power Cable, a Battery Pack, a Trochoid Gear, and an Aspheric Lens," Sai reported. " _Two_ Vetala and a Vampire. What do the Cie'th even  _want_  with these things anyway?"

"Who knows?" Sazh said. "But all we need now is some metal plating."

"There's some cargo up there near the train tracks," Fang said. "Metal everywhere, and judging by the state of the bridge, I'd say there are plenty of options for metal that we can easily recover rather than stuff like the windmills or the houses."

"I'll take these parts back to the house," Sai said. "See how Shu's doing and map out the plan for repairing Bhakti."

"You sure you'll be all right on your own?" Hope asked.

"I can handle a few Chonchon and Seekers, yeah. We've already cleared the area of most of the big baddies. I'll ask Shu and Charon if we can get the house up and running again with the electricity so that we can spend the night. Water might also be an issue with the ocean mixed with crystal dust."

"Got it," Snow said. "Meet ya back there."

Sai headed back to the house, passing the Ghoul sleeping at the bottom of the stairs, heading up and past the other Ghoul at the door. Sai was gonna name the Ghouls Kate and Kris at this rate. When Sai opened the door, he was greeted with the sight of Charon and Shu jumping apart and trying to fix their disheveled appearances after having been making out for the gods know how long.

"Hi Sai," Shu squeaked. "W-Wh-Wha-Wha-What's up?"

He rolled his eyes. "At least you weren't having sex. I'll be in the living room repairing Bhakti. The others will be back soon. If you're gonna do stuff, do it in the bedroom and  _close_  the curtain. Better yet, you might wanna move to another place for the night under the excuse of Shu's recovery. Best of luck you two. And when you name your children, I expect to be consulted."

Charon rubbed the back of his head while Shu stuttered. "I don't think that's… _is_  it even poss…I-I'd like…"

Sai chuckled. "Take care of each other. And be happy, Shu. You deserve it."

"What about me?" Charon asked.

He waved. "I'll leave Shu to babysit you."

"Hey!"

Sai laughed and walked over to the shutdown Bhakti. Charon and Shu went over to the bunk beds, Shu climbing up to the top bunk with Charon flying up to meet them. They seemed to be just talking. For now. Sai set down the parts they had retrieved and searched for a toolbox. He found one in a drawer and opened up Bhakti's body to start replacing his battery. He cut out some broken power cables to replace them and fixed one of the rusted gears. As he was replacing one of Bhakti's eyes, the others returned with some Metal Plate and Sazh finished up the repairs.

Sazh flicked a small switch at the small bot came back to life. "Hey-hey! Look who's back."

The bot made small beeps and popped its eyes open carefully. Vanille sighed in relief and rubbed her hand over it. "Oh, Bhakti, thank  _goodness!_ "

Bhakti popped up on his little wheels, his antenna raising and his eye compartments fully opening. He started to whirr, working at full capacity and almost seeming to jump for joy.

"You are  _lifesavers_ , you two," Fang said.

"Ah, it was just a quick tune-up," Sai said, petting Bhakti as he turned to look at him and then Vanille, rolling away.

"Don't mention it," Sazh agreed.

Bhakti rolled around the room, grabbing a small bag of items, before returning to them. "Let's see what he has to say," Sai said. "Looks like he's got some info in his databanks."

Bhakti's eyes flashed green and he projected a small screen in front of him.

' _Congratulations, you are a true Pulsian Pioneer! But somewhere out there, long-forgotten equipment still waits to be found! Bhakti's Bonus Byte #11: The towering Adamantoise is the undisputed king of the steppe. Get too close, and even a chocobo will turn tail feather and run._ '

"Cool, he's got fun facts for travelers in here."

"What about the bag?" Hope asked, kneeling.

Sai took it and dug around. "10 vials of Deceptisol, 2 Ultracompact Reactors, a Gold Nugget, 5 vials of Perfume, and 3 Platinum Ingots."

"Bhakti's a rover that seeks out treasures and useful items," Vanille informed them. "Guess he's been on auto-pilot so long that he picked up some valuables."

"Not bad. We can do some upgrading with all of this."

"Think we're due for another trip to the Steppe for some fun?" Snow suggested.

"There's a Waystone in the village that we activated," Lightning said. "We can get back there pretty quickly, take on some of those Cie'th Stone missions we missed, get some spoils, get some more training."

"We can also do a little more searching around the village for some clues that can help us get rid of our brands, or at  _least_  answer some questions about what happened during the time we were gone," Fang added.

"Sounds like a plan," Sazh said. "It'll also give Shu time to recover. Divide and conquer."

"First, a night of rest after our crazy day for  _all_  of us," Sai announced. "There are plenty of beds for everyone. Triple-decker bunks."

"Before that, how about we get some food?" Snow announced.

"Well, we can't exactly eat Cie'th," Hope said. "Wait,  _can_  we?"

"I doubt it's healthy," Fang threw out.

"So that means we should head back anyway with the Waystone for something to hunt."

"One of the Waystones back in the Steppe lead right to a Gorgonopsid hunting ground," Lightning remembered. "Should be a quick trip."

"Okay then, let's go get some grub!" Snow announced, already heading out the door.

"Right with ya," Fang sighed, smiling at his eccentric personality.

"I'll go too," Lightning volunteered. "The rest of you settle in."

"I got the plumbing working," Charon announced, flying down from the top bunk. He seemed to be enjoying the fact that he could fly again. "I'll get the electricity going so you guys won't freeze to death tonight and will have some lighting. As well as the ability to cook. Give me five minutes."

He flew over to the electrical box that normally would've needed a ladder to reach.

"He seems in a better mood," Sazh noticed.

"He and Shu have had their ' _talk_ ,'" Sai informed them.

"Ah. That makes sense." " _Finally!_ " "Good for them." "Does this mean all the drama is over?"

"Yes…at least,  _hopefully_."

"I have to replace about four different cords," Charon announced. "Hang tight. You think some of those smaller Cie'th are the result of the  _rats_  getting branded and failing their Focus? Getting turned to Cie'th for chewing up these wires? That'd be amusing."

Charon flew outside to handle his repairs.

"Did I just hear him try to be humorous?" Sai asked.

"Now  _that_  is a miracle right there," Sazh sighed. "Well, might as well choose bunks."

"I call top!" Sai shouted.

"Me too!" Vanille called.

Hope chuckled and joined them in figuring out the logistics of how they were going to split the bunks - boys, girls, and fal'Cie? But who would have the last bed on the fal'Cie one? Sazh chuckled. Without Lightning and Fang, he really  _was_  the only adult there, looking after a bunch of kids.

That's all they were, kids who didn't deserve to have such a big burden on their shoulders. For the moment, they could put the weight of the world aside, and under different circumstances, there was no doubt that they'd be good friends. If they made it out of this, all of them, there was an unsaid promise that they would hopefully remain a family unit.

* * *

Charon held his hand up. "You sure about this?"

He and Shu were out on the crystal dunes outside of the village during the sunset while the others were eating dinner in the house. Shu's only worry was that no one stole their top bunk while they were out.

"No," Shu admitted. "But you're the only one I trust that can do this."

"I'm not a healer, Shu. I'm literally supposed to be death. What if I…?"

Shu took his hand. "It's okay. I know that you won't do anything to harm me."

"Neither of us know that, Shu."

"I know that Zanmato saved me and it's a special blade that reflects your soul and desires. If I'm in trouble, it can save me."

"We have no guarantee."

" _I_  believe in it.  _I_  believe in  _you_. Charon, I can't do  _anything_  with this wound."

The large cut in Shu's stomach was refusing to heal and it was releasing bits of their energy - not as much as Dahaka had released when he tried creating the portal to the Unseen Realm, but still enough that Shu wasn't going to be able to recover fully. It was like fal'Cie hemophilia, Shu's life force was leaking away and there was no way to dam the flow. As such, Shu would only be stable for so long thanks to Zanmato's revive power - the remaining red and purple glow now extremely dim. Shu needed energy, enough to mend the damage that Dahaka did, but whoever gave it to him would be putting a piece of themself inside Shu - it would be the equivalent of an organ transplant. If the energy was poisonous, Shu would be left vulnerable to whatever came their way since it would already be inside them.

"Are you sure that you can't just recover over time?"

Shu gave a small look of pity. "Chare…if…look, Zanmato is keeping me alive right now, the residual energy of its revival is what's keeping me in such a good state. It's almost gone, and once it is…I know that…I'm not sure if I'll stay strong enough to do this. My body is more damaged than it seems. Please, Charon, just trust me on this. I'm not gonna…I'm basically a dead person walking right now. Styx or Zanmato, whatever, something gave me a chance to save myself, but my grace period in the world of the living is…it's nearly gone. I wouldn't have anyone else have the honor of saving me."

"You'll be stuck with me forever. Me, the guy who caused all that pain, who's emotionally messed up and will no doubt cause you even more pain in the future."

Shu cupped his face lightly. "But I know that you'll always fight for us through all of that, and I'll do the same. I still hate you, but I also still love you. We're not healthy for each other, in a way, but we need each other, for now. After all of this, how about we…we'll slow down a bit, all right? Make sure that…this really is what we want and not just a relationship born through all this stress, fear, and…all the chaos that's taken over our lives that's practically pushed us together by force. Let's make this relationship  _our_  decision, not…not…"

Shu cut themselves off and Charon thought that Shu just couldn't find the words, but Shu's eyes closed and the light in their chest was beginning to flicker out.

"Shu?" Shu's breath started to become lighter. Charon held up his hand. "Okay, okay. Here I go. I can do this."

He carefully slipped his hand inside the large wound, feeling Shu's insides wiggling around and then feeling Shu's life force. He flipped a mental switch and connected to Shu, feeling as their life force faded, dimming like a light that flickered out. Charon could now see Shu's energy, like a light-green fountain of mist, as well as his own, a much denser and stable cloud of blackness. He grabbed on to Shu's life force and started to pull it back into their body and then he connected his with theirs. They started to mix, darkening Shu's lively green to a murkier olive green. Despite the color change, Shu was definitely getting better, their wound sealing and their life energy growing stronger with Charon's help.

Charon started to feel Shu's essence mixing with his, and it was like suddenly taking a breath of water. Charon saw a whole different life than his own - a young Shu growing up looking to their sister for everything because she was their hero; Shu screaming at Barthandelus and refusing to give in to his taunts about Rei and ultimately suffering for it; Shu meeting the Cavalry and keeping hope that Rei was still out there, back when they had been ignorant of the truth; Shu being nervous as hell during the early days of meeting Charon, and subsequently talking Fang's ear off about their first date and how absolutely in love they were, hoping that this was all real; and, of course, Shu being completely mesmerized by Charon during their relationship.

Charon saw a memory that he hadn't even thought about in ages, but it was something that Shu had clung to tightly.

Charon saw himself and Shu in Charon's room on the Lindblum. Charon had been playing some relaxing music before Shu had arrived, as the music was needed to help keep Charon sane during all of those tough years. When Shu walked in, they asked what the song was and why Charon was listening to it. Charon had just said that he liked it, before casually, spur-of-the-moment, asking Shu for a dance. Shu happily accepted and the two of them had danced around the small area of Charon's room for the duration of the song. It was only a couple small minutes of swaying and spinning, but it was more than enough to make Shu sentimental. There was just one moment that Charon was directed to: a moment when Charon spun out rather than Shu so that he respected that Shu wasn't instantly categorized as the girl in their relationship just because Charon was a guy. The small detail hadn't gotten past Shu, and though it was just a natural instinct for Charon, something he didn't think about twice, to Shu it nearly brought them to tears. Shu took a turn spinning out right after, and when they spun back into Charon's arms, they just stopped there for a peaceful moment, surrounded by Charon's arms around them and knowing, just  _knowing_ , that this was the person who was special. This was the person they wanted to spend the rest of their eternal life with, no matter what it took, no matter how many arguments they had or how long they were stuck with each other. The two of them had, in Shu's memory, shared a moment there that had locked them together forever, a moment with no lies, a complete bond.

Charon saw Shu's perspective on their fallout, crying over Rei when they had first arrived at the Fifth Ark, feeling more alone than they ever had been. Shu had lost both Charon and Rei in one fell swoop and had no idea what to do. When they had seen Charon again, along with Raines, Shu had been scared of Charon, of course, but at the same time, the sight of him had caused Shu's heart to skip, and hearing of Charon's betrayal didn't seem real. Shu  _couldn't_  have imagined everything that had gone between them. Shu  _knew_ that what the two of them had felt been real, and no matter what Charon said, he hadn't lied about that - that moment when the two of them were just standing there after that dance in silence, connected to each other in mind and body. Shu had never given up on Charon, not for one moment.

Charon saw as Shu was forced to watch Charon from afar, afraid to push him and respectful of his boundaries, but still wanting to help and let Charon know that they were there if ever he wanted to ask. He saw as Shu started growing more and more concerned, then more and more impatient, then more and more angry. He saw Shu's terror at being taken away by Dahaka, felt the pain of the debilitating blast as well as the fatigue from all of the fighting and bickering with Charon. Shu just wanted someone by their side through all of the heartbreak, but Charon had just been wrapped up in his own problems.

He saw Shu meeting with Styx, seeing her happy and healthy, and that caused him to smile and cry all at the same time. He saw Shu's relief when they woke up in Charon's arms, seeing in his eyes that something had changed. Charon was no longer afraid of himself, no longer so ashamed that he couldn't just be a loving boyfriend. Even if it took all that pain, Shu would've done it all again if it meant that they could get Charon to smile again, to break past that darkness that had been consuming him. If it meant saving Charon, Shu would've happily gone through all of that again. He was back now, that was all that mattered. Charon also laughed when he saw what Shu had been dreaming of that had caused them to sleep talk about chickens - Shu sitting in a pen of them trying to make conversation, but apparently, the chickens weren't interested. Honestly, Shu's mind wandered to the weirdest of places. Charon loved them even more.

He saw as Shu stared at Charon, hoping so hard that he'd come back, the  _real_  him, the one that was confident enough to love Shu. Still, they had their doubts. What if Charon slipped away again? What if he was just beyond Shu's help? No, Shu decided. They wouldn't let Charon slip away again. They wouldn't just stand by and watch him torture himself just because that was what he wanted. Shu would slap him if he ever started doubting himself again, start shouting and screaming - anything that would keep Charon from shutting them out to wallow in his misery alone. Charon would never be alone again, Shu would make sure of it.

When Charon came back to himself, he saw that Shu's aura was much better than it had been before. Shu's energy was now olive green rather than the lighter green from before, but Charon's energy was also the same olive green rather than black. Shu was still unconscious, but this time it was only a peaceful nap. Their wounds had all healed now, the full color returned to their skin and hair.

Charon smiled and brushed a strand of hair from Shu's face. They looked completely back to normal, and Charon didn't understand how he could possibly resist… _Shu_. He leaned down to kiss them lightly but ended up staying a little longer than he had intended. Apparently, he stayed a little  _too_  long, since he inadvertently woke Shu from their peaceful sleep. Too bad, Charon had wanted to stare at them in their sleep a little longer (it wasn't weird). But in return, Shu woke up to instantly kiss Charon back, so it wasn't much of a loss.

There was a moment when they stayed close after they'd released their lip lock, simply staring into each other's eyes with a new perspective at each other's lives.

"Hi," Charon said.

"Hello," Shu greeted warmly. "My name is Asushunamir, but call me Shu."

Charon smiled at the reversal of their original greeting format. "Mataecharonsan. Charon."

And it was like they'd started anew.

* * *

"Let's make this relationship  _our_  decision, not…not…"

Shu forgot what they were talking about as they passed out from exhaustion from the simple act of talking. They thought that they heard the sound of the ocean, the waves outside of Valhalla, but then, they felt a punch to the gut, a booming burst of strength that acted as a life-preserver, pulling them back from the edge of death.

They started to see a young Charon, gathering food for his younger sister. Shu felt the responsibility that Charon held on his shoulders as a big brother, the weight of holding another life in his hands, and the fulfillment of seeing his sister happy. Charon would've done anything to see Styx smile, and so when she was taken away, the dread that set in brought him to his knees. When he saw his little sister imprisoned by Barthandelus, he would've agreed to anything to save her. But as time went on, he had to wait far longer than he had initially assumed. Styx suffered no matter what he did, and Shu saw that one random day, unmarked in Charon's mind beyond one single factor: it was the day that he began to regret. He finally admitted to himself that he'd made the wrong choice, that just letting Styx die would've saved her from all of this pain, that helping Barthandelus while he made his sister suffer wasn't what he wanted, and he wished he could take it all back. Shu saw as Charon fell into a pit of despair, deeper than anything that Shu could've ever imagined. Shu wanted to sob if they weren't in a world of memories.

Then, Shu saw as Charon first saw a blur of blonde out of the corner of his eye. He first saw Shu on the Lindblum, introducing themselves to the other crew members in the mess hall. Shu was smiling and eccentric, but beyond that, Charon sensed they were a fal'Cie. Charon had asked Cid about Shu, and Cid had explained that in Barthandelus's paperwork, Cid had been informed that he would have to take in a fal'Cie called Asushunamir. After that day, Charon couldn't stop thinking about Shu. Every time he saw them, he couldn't help but stare from afar and wonder. No matter what Charon was doing, he was instantly distracted just by the thought that Shu  _may_  be near, but when he caught a large flash of blonde out of the corner of his eye, his heart started jumping out of his chest for reasons he couldn't explain. Why was he so curious about Shu? He told himself it was because Shu was a fal'Cie and could be a potential threat to his mission. Yeah, that was what he'd tell anyone that asked. Not that anyone was gonna ask at that moment…or was he not being very subtle? How subtle was he being? Maybe he was being obvious.

Charon finally saw that Shu was alone. They were just sitting there, playing with a plant, making it grow larger and giggling lightly. It was adorable. Charon handed over the paperwork for Cid from Barthandelus, and as Cid walked away, Charon stared at Shu. He had a long mental debate about whether to go over. There was no reason. But Charon  _really_  wanted to. He could get in trouble. But he  _really_  wanted to know what Shu's voice sounded like from up close. He would embarrass himself. No, he wouldn't, Shu was a nice person. If anything,  _they_  would be the most embarrassing out of the two of them. Right? Charon's muscles tensed, readying him to walk over. Then he stopped himself. Then he lurched slightly forward, and then he pulled back. ' _By the gods, just_ do _it!_ ' He had shouted at himself in his mind. Finally, he gave in. He walked over and started a conversation. He realized that Shu got flustered  _so_  easily, and it was  _so_  adorable. He decided to make it a game: could he charm his way into gaining Shu's trust? It was the only way for him to make it through their encounters, the only thing that kept his mind straight when he was staring directly at Shu's perfect face, hearing their perfect voice. He had to convince himself that it wasn't more than a game.

Then, he asked Shu on a date. It was  _totally_  for the sake of playing them. And yet he was excited. Oh, gods, he was nervous. Crap, he was kissing them. Crap, he liked it. Crap, he was doing it again the next day. Crap, he was in love with Asushunamir. Crap, this wasn't going to end well. Crap, this had gone too far. Charon told himself that he'd fix this, that he'd break things off before Shu ever found out about what he was, who he really worked for. But then he just  _didn't_. Then, they were walking into the bridge of the Palamecia and Charon braced himself. In the end, the one who felt the most pain during the betrayal wasn't Shu - it was Charon.

He argued with Styx, but in all honesty, Charon didn't know what he was fighting for. Even  _he_  couldn't justify his actions, but he tried to pretend. He tried to convince himself like he had so many times before. Finally, his excuses were breaking down. He was lost, he didn't know what to do. Then, his sister was gone. He lashed out, deciding to destroy Barthandelus's plans, but even that failed.

He was running from Rei, but it wasn't just the guilt of her death that he was running from. He was running from his helplessness, his confusion. He didn't want to be lost, without a purpose, and he didn't want to keep failing the ones that he loved. He couldn't stand that heartbreak anymore. He'd fallen off the path that he'd been walking, however flawed, and now he was given a million choices of paths and he didn't want to choose wrong again.

Shu saw when they had pushed Charon through being cruel to him, the physical punch that every word hit him with, and the calming techniques that Sai had suggested. Sai. He had worked so hard to get the two of them back together. And Shu had stolen his first kiss that probably should've been his to choose. Whoops. They'd have to apologize for that.

Then, Shu saw the absolute overwhelming terror that consumed Charon at the thought of losing Shu to Dahaka. No matter what he had been feeling, he knew, at that moment, that he needed Shu in his life, that he wouldn't let something take Shu away no matter how Shu felt about him, and no matter how confused he was. Shu saw the warmth of their reconciliation, the relief, and the confusion that remained but at least was made a little clearer. Shu saw Charon's love and adoration that was finally allowed to bloom, the release of all his pain the moment they had kissed after all that time apart, and the new concern that he was going to do something wrong just as he had gotten Shu back by trying to help fix them from Dahaka's wound.

And finally, Shu saw Charon's smile as he looked at the sleeping form of Shu, admiring their relaxed face, so at peace when unconscious. When Shu returned to their own body, they woke up to the warmth of Charon's lips against theirs. They nearly broke out into a full grin, but instead opted for reciprocating in full force.

When Charon stopped, Shu opened their eyes to see something had changed. Charon had seen Shu's life too, they knew it instantly. They had both grown closer than they had ever been before - they were two new people who understood each other like they were one person, and yet they were strangers all the same.

"Hi," Charon said lightly.

Shu couldn't help but smile. They recalled their initial introduction, how Charon had introduced himself first, so calm and collected while Shu had been a stuttering mess. Maybe it was time for a reversal of those roles.

"Hello," Shu greeted warmly. "My name is Asushunamir, but call me Shu."

Charon smiled knowingly, but he didn't stutter like Shu had done. "Mataecharonsan. Charon."

Well, that's good enough. Not that Shu would be disappointed with anything about Charon. Not anymore. They were above that now, misunderstandings, disagreements, isolation. That was all over. They were together now, and nothing would drive them apart.


	39. Pulsian Hijinks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Ah!" Shu squeaked. "I can't watch!" They covered their eyes for only a second before they released them again. "Oh, but I have to watch!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was basically a fun chapter where I showed some of the things on Pulse, the fun cutscenes and such, that you could do when taking on the 64 missions. Haha they aren't fun to 5 star for that trophy :l
> 
> Since it's basically a filler chapter, I'm going to have another double update with the next part being the actual storyline again, so feel free to skip this chapter if you're not interested. In essence, these guys get stronger and take on all dem bosses.

Hope was sitting alone, taking in the view of Pulse. He could see a myriad of greenery from his position, some monsters flying in the distance, as well as Cocoon. The only sounds were the wind and maybe a few birds hidden somewhere in the flora.

Vanille slowly walked up behind him, and Hope was so deep in thought that he didn't notice her approach. "Something on your mind?"

He jumped, but quickly realized it was only her. "Huh? Oh, I, uh…I was just thinking."

"About what? Something complicated?"

Hope chuckled and shook his head lightly. "I was just taking it all in. The  _sky_  here, the  _trees_ …the sunlight, the smells…all of that and more. When I was on Cocoon, I never dreamed a place like this could even  _exist_. But now? Here I am, on Pulse."

Vanille looked up to the sky, holding her hand to block the sun so she could see.

"If I  _hadn't_  gone to those fireworks, if I  _hadn't_  been sitting in that  _same_  train car during the Purge…if  _anything_  had been different, I'd never have had a chance to see this."

Vanille lowered her hand and her eyes, shaking her head firmly. " _No_ , I'm  _sure_  you would have wound up  _here_." She plopped down next to him in the grass, holding up her pinky finger. "Don't you remember you  _promised_  me? You promised me that we'd come and see Gran Pulse  _together_."

Hope sat forward in thought. "Uh… _really?_  I…when did I do  _that?_ "

Vanille giggled and took his wrist, interlocking their pinkies together. "Oh, I don't  _know_. How about…another lifetime?"

She chuckled and stood while Hope looked to her in surprise and confusion, holding his hand that she'd taken. "What does that even  _mean?_ "

She stepped forward, staring up at Cocoon. "To tell you the  _truth_ …I've told so many  _lies_ , it's all a  _blur_."

"Well…you  _know_ …sometimes you  _have_  to lie about stuff." Vanille turned back to him in surprise. "To keep yourself  _going_ …because you're  _afraid_. Or to protect someone  _else_ , so they don't get  _hurt_. Sometimes…even the things that everyone in the whole world thinks are true turn out to be lies. At the end of the day, though, it's not the  _lie_  that matters, but what you do  _after_  you tell it. Work hard enough, and you can  _make_ it true." He rose to his feet, brushing himself off. "I mean…maybe we  _both_  forgot. Maybe we  _did_ promise to see Gran Pulse together -  _and_  Cocoon."

He stretched, while Vanille clasped her hands together in front of her. "Thanks, Hope."

"Do something for me, will you?" He requested, turning back to her. "Keep smiling. I…it makes me happy when you smile."

Vanille's eyes were wide. "I…I didn't know you  _felt_  that way…" She turned and covered her face with her hands, nearly having a full-blown panic.

Meanwhile, Hope was doubled over laughing, his hand over his mouth.

"Wait a minute…you mean you were  _joking?_ "

" _Now_  we're even!" He shouted, running past her.

She grunted in anger. "Hey!  _Wait!_ "

She ended up giggling as she chased after him and he sprinted away.

Shu watched as Vanille tagged Hope, shoving his shoulder as the two of them laughed and continued walking together to rejoin the others.

"Aw, aren't they cute?" Shu crooned.

"Well, they say a lot of truth is said in jest," Charon said, his arms crossed. "Nothing wrong with smiling. We  _need_  a lot of smiles these days."

Shu linked arms with him. "Well  _I'm_  your person!"

"And I'm your man."

"Now we need a woman. How 'bout Sai? He's pretty feminine."

He chuckled and shook his head in his belief. "It's good to be back."

"Good to have ya."

"Good to have  _you_ , Flower."

* * *

"Whoa!  _That's_  Titan?!" Sai exclaimed.

"Yup. He's like the big brother you never wanted and the big brother he never wanted to be," Shu said.

"What's a guy that big supposed to do for fun?" Snow wondered. "He'd crush anything in his path if he just went on a casual stroll."

"He kinda just stomps on stuff he wants to stomp on," Charon said. "His motto is basically 'It's the circle of life, suck it up.'"

"My kinda guy," Fang smirked.

"You know, he has a lot of monsters that he uses to test on people," Shu said. "You guys might wanna consider seeing if he can help you improve your skills. If you can gain  _his_  approval, then you  _know_  you'll be strong enough to take on whatever's thrown at you."

"You think the others are having fun with that Geiseric thing?" Sai asked.

* * *

"Move!" Lightning shouted.

Geiseric roared before Vanille and Sazh were taken down by a Dominating Fist that shook the earth, and as Hope cast Raise on Vanille, he was knocked off his feet by a Savage Stomp. Lightning threw a Phoenix Down at Sazh before charging in to take down the Geiseric's Fist. She ended up the closest to the next Dominating Fist attack and she was knocked to the ground, barely staying conscious. There was a panic as some people went to healing, others went to buffing up with Protect. It was a whirlwind of offensive and defensive moves, but unfortunately, they didn't have a Sentinel to help with the damage of this massive, hard-hitting Cie'th.

"On your toes!"

"You can do it!"

"New strategy!"

"Gotta stay in control!"

* * *

"I'm sure they're fine," Shu said. "Breezing through."

"What even  _is_  a Geiseric?" Sai asked.

"Oh, just a Cie'th."

"A  _big_  Cie'th," Charon pointed out.

"Just a Cie'th!" Shu snapped. "Nothing to worry about."

The others stared at them.

Charon sighed. "We'll meet up with them once we handle this Goblin pack. Why do these stones have to be  _so_  far away from their marks? No  _wonder_  these guys failed their Focuses, they were  _way_  off the mark when it came to the locations!"

"Is  _that_  the pack we're looking for?" Fang called, pointing to a grouping of Goblins with a Goblin Chieftain.

"Looks close enough to me," Snow said, punching a fist into his palm.

"That's not as many Goblins as I expected," Sai frowned.

"You think there are more hiding somewhere for the ambush?" Shu asked, sounding a little too eager at the idea of getting ambushed.

"Only one way to find out," Charon shrugged, drawing his Kozuka. "Last one to kill a Goblin has to find the next Cie'th Stone! And  _it's_  back at Yaschas Massif!"

* * *

" _That_  went well," Lightning muttered, watching as the heart (or whatever that light was) shot up and out from Geiseric's body before vanishing.

Sazh brushed his coat off. "Well, it wasn't  _too_  bad once we got the hang of it."

"Let's just go see where that Paling barrier led to," Hope suggested.

They met up with the other group, and Sai was quick to demand what Shu had been hiding about the Geiseric.

"So…it  _may_  have been an  _Undying_  Cie'th," Shu said meekly.

Lightning crossed her arms. "It was  _definitely_  an Undying Cie'th. A little warning would've been nice."

"I  _forgot_  it was an Undying! Look on the bright side, at least it wasn't Vercingetorix!"

"What's a…Ver…thingy?" Snow asked.

"You don't wanna know."

Unbeknownst to them, while they were distracted with Shu, Charon, Sazh and Fang had already gone ahead. Sazh sniffed the air and exclaimed in disgust, holding his nose before realizing what it was.

"I  _know_  that smell!" He shouted.

He chuckled and ran forward, coming out into a hidden spring that had become a chocobo breeding ground.

"I  _knew_  it!" Sazh chuckled. "Hey, you!"

A large flock of chocobos all squawked at his presence, looking up in a chorus of bird cries.

"Are you  _kidding_  me?" He laughed.

Chocobos apparently said "Kweh!" the same way a cow went "Moo!" and so Sazh called "Kweh!" in a playful manner, having plenty of practice since his son had loved chocobos.

" _That_ …is a lot of chocobos," Charon muttered.

The chocobo herd scattered, and Sazh kneeled to see a little grouping of chocobo chicks.

"Hey! Look what we got here!" He looked to his chocobo chick, hovering at his shoulder. "New friends, huh? Why don't you go say 'hi?'"

His chocobo chick flew down to the group of wild chocobo chicks, making an ever graceful first impression by falling on her face, tumbling beak over talons, and bumping into one of the chicks - who turned and looked for what had hit it to be greeted with the sight of Sazh's chick who had fallen on her back. Sazh stood with a chuckle as the three Pulsian chicks greeted Sazh's chick. One of the Pulsian chicks did a backflip with Sazh's chick as a sort of playful ritual of chocobo chick friendship.

"You keep growing like  _that_ , you'll be bigger than me before long, won't you?" Sazh laughed. "Ah, maybe it'd be best to just say good-bye here."

Sazh's chick froze for a moment. Then she jumped and turned around, taking flight, and launching right into Sazh's face to peck him hard considering her small mass. Sazh was actually knocked off balance from the impact.

"Hey! Ugh! Come on-!" Sazh tried to protest before his chick head-butted him hard enough to knock him off his feet. "Ah!"

Charon knelt beside Sazh. "This is just a guess, but I  _don't_  think that was the right thing to say," He pointed out. "She's lecturing you right now. Using many words that I would  _not_  be able to repeat while children are present."

Sazh groaned and sat up. " _Jeesh!_  Come on, I was just  _kidding!_ "

His chick gave a small chirp and nodded her beak towards Cocoon, hovering in the sky above.

"Yeah, I know," Sazh said. "You're sticking with  _me_  till  _Dajh_  wakes up." His chick landed in his hand and he wagged a finger. "Could be a long wait. No one knows."

His bird squeaked and flew up, returning to Sazh's hair. "Oop. Kweh, kweh," He muttered lightly.

He sighed, trying not to let the thoughts about Dajh get him down. His son was a crystal, he should be happy about that. Better a crystal than a Cie'th. But though Vanille and Fang had once come out of crystal stasis, that was  _hundreds_  of years of waiting. And there was the theory that the only reason they returned from crystal was because their Focus wasn't complete. If the Cie'th Stones were anything to go buy, the only way that one was released from crystal was if their Focus somehow failed after they had succeeded - maybe a monster they killed somehow returned again and they failed in dispatching it a second time, or in his friends' case, they only fulfilled half of the quota of their Focus.

The only hope that Sazh had of seeing his son again was to become a crystal himself. Of course, that would most likely require the destruction of Cocoon. It was a real conundrum, all right.

Sazh sighed, but a moment later he realized that Fang was standing behind him with her arms crossed, having witnessed the entire interaction.

"Hey! Wha-da-what are we-?!" He stumbled to his feet and stuttered quickly. "What are ya…you  _watching_ me, or something?!  _Say_  something! Or  _something!_ "

"Didn't wanna interrupt," She said. "And, you know…I didn't  _quite_  know where to begin."

Sazh held his hand up. "You don't have to begin anywhere. What happened to Dajh…wasn't your fault."

"But Sazh-"

"You've got  _more_  than enough weight on your shoulders already. It was  _my_  fault at Euride - letting Dajh out of my sight like that. That one's on  _me_."

He turned and to walk away, but Fang spoke up. "And  _you're_  just gonna  _deal_  with that on your own. Is  _that_ it?"

Sazh turned back with a chuckle. "Ah, ha, ha.  _I_  don't  _have_  to." He motioned to his afro where his chocobo chick popped out. " _I_  got  _this_  guy! And  _you?_  You've got  _Vanille_. You weren't  _alone_. That kept you going, didn't it?" She stared in thought, while Sazh waved his hand and sighed. "Ah, listen to  _me!_  Trying to act all parent-y."

Charon pat him on the shoulder. "Don't give up, old man. You're getting the hang of it," He assured Sazh.

He walked past and Sazh looked up to Fang who was following. " _Really_ ," She insisted with a smile.

Sazh watched them walk off before wiping his eyes and sniffling. His chocobo chick popped out as Sazh looked up to Cocoon where his son was sleeping in crystal. He would make it back to Dajh, they  _both_  would. That was a promise that they intended to keep. Together.

* * *

You could practically see the stars in Shu's eyes as they popped around the area, saying hello to the chocobos and the flowers that were all around thanks to the waterfalls.

"It's so  _BEAUTIFUL!_  Rei would've  _loved_  it here…"

"The Font of Namva," Charon said. "Styx made it."

Shu gasped. " _Really?!_ "

He nodded. "It was a really long time ago. This entire place was once underwater, you know. There are tons of plateaus and mountains out there, you saw. That was once the sea level, a couple hundred years ago."

Shu looked around. "So  _that's_  why the Archylte Steppe looks so different…"

"Styx saw the local chocobo population had no safe shelter from monsters, and so she specifically parted the waters and used her river to dig through the rock to make this place. Now, it's a chocobo breeding ground, and it has been for a while. That Paling out there was actually her doing. She gave that person the Focus of destroying a powerful Undying Cie'th - actually she made that Undying Cie'th out of a man that would've never become one otherwise - knowing that they would fail so that their Cie'th Stone would create that barrier. Chocobos could pass through, certain monsters may have been able to slip past, but beyond that, the chocobos were relatively safe."

"Aw, she  _loved_  chocobos! She told me this story of how she found an egg and tried to keep it, but her brother wouldn't let her because chocobo eggs weren't supposed to be kept underwater, which made sense, but it was still kinda sad since she promised to keep it at the proper temperature so that it wouldn't freeze and it also wouldn't cook but he still said no. He  _did_  give in and kept the egg for her on land so that she could watch it and wait for it to hatch and when it did, he raised it for her before letting it go off into the wild to make more baby chocobos."

"The thing was like a fly, never left me alone," Charon said. "He thought I was his mom."

"You would've made a good mommy."

"Yeah, well I nearly killed it more than a couple times. We had plenty of water thanks to Styx, but I had no idea what a chocobo chick was supposed to eat. Styx said the white flowers, so I got the white flowers, but  _apparently_  they weren't flowers, they were  _weeds_ , and so Chuck got  _sick_  and then Styx got upset."

"You named him Chuck?"

"Styx did."

"Aw, that sounds just like her. Anyway, I'm sure you were a  _fine_  parent."

He rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, well…odds are, I'd kill any children of mine within seconds."

"That's not true! You raised your sister, didn't you? It  _just_  like that. I assume."

"Well, only one way to find out. But let's save that for  _after_  we save the world."

Shu squeaked. "Uh…yeah! Yes! Totally! I-I mean if that's okay with you."

"Is…it okay with  _you?_ "

Shu grabbed a chunk of their hair and ran their hands through it quickly. Aw man, that was almost too cute to be true. Was Charon wrong for wanting to see Shu nervous more often? "Well, I-I haven't really thought about it  _that_  much - maybe a little - but that would be totally fine if we found out it was possible…"

"Is it…is it  _not?_ "

"I don't…really know. I'm not…I'm not normal, so…"

"You know that we can just…" He waved his hand, trying to get his point across without speaking. "You know…"

"I know. I just want it to be… _ours_."

Charon shook his head. "This isn't the time for this, okay? We've got more than enough on our plates already. Let's make it through this first, then we can move on to the important stuff."

Shu nodded. "Okay."

Charon took their hand. "Hey, we'll work it. It's gonna be  _fine_. Come on, let's go make some chocobo friends."

Shu smiled. "Yeah!"

* * *

"You need to earn their trust," Shu said. "You have to prove yourselves as honorary chocobo riders!"

Lightning crossed her arms. "Great. How do we do that?"

"Well, first you have to slay a certain number of monsters in the Steppe, which you've already done. Next, it seems there's a Cie'th Stone out there of a person whose Focus was to help the chocobos in their breeding ground - they specifically asked a fal'Cie to give them the power of a l'Cie to help the chocobos. Find that Cie'th Stone and it'll direct us to the enemies of the chocobos. We defeat them, and we get the chocobos' trust. Easy!"

"Right. ' _Easy_.'"

A chocobo gave a 'Kweh!'

"Oh, and Kal here says that it's by the water. That shouldn't be too hard!"

"There are only a couple waterholes on the Steppe," Charon said. "This being one of them. If we're talking all of Gran Pulse, that's another story, but within the near area, we've got limited choices."

"That's a start at least," Fang said. "So, which waterholes are you thinking of?"

* * *

"What a benevolent soul," Sai muttered. "Willing to become a l'Cie just to help these chocobos."

"Not all fal'Cie are heartless," Charon said. "If someone wants to be a l'Cie, who are they to deny them?"

"Sahagins, huh?" Snow asked, pumping a fist. "No problem!"

"And Ceratosaurs," Hope added.

"Get your Ruinga spells ready, people!" Shu announced.

"Does this mean we have to go back to the chocobo place?" Vanille asked.

"Guess so," Charon nodded.

* * *

When they returned to the Font of Namva, they found that the Sahagins and the Ceratosaurs had started harassing the local chocobo population.

"Oh no!" Vanille exclaimed.

One chocobo in particular was cornered, attempting to sneak away, but a Sahagin hissed and blocked the chocobo's path.

"Hey! Don't you say that about him!" Shu shouted.

"You speak Sahagin?" Sai asked.

He wasn't  _too_  surprised about that, but still.

"I speak  _all_  animals' languages!" Shu declared. " _See_? I'm speaking human right now!"

"Looks like  _somebody_  needs a hand!" Sazh exclaimed.

Sazh's chocobo chick flew out very gently. She squeaked very, very calmly with a very, very  _not_  calm look on her face.

"Hurry the  _what_  up?" Shu blinked.

"That chocobo chick has a  _mouth_  man," Charon muttered.

"Geez!" Sazh sighed, drawing his pistols. "Someone's had their feathers ruffled!"

They ran into battle.

* * *

"Few minutes later, and you'd have been plucked!" Sazh exclaimed.

Sazh's chocobo chick flew around the chocobo they'd saved. They seemed to be getting along well.

"You've got the Gysahl Reins!" Shu exclaimed.

"Great!" Snow exclaimed. "What are those?"

"Cid Raines' cousin?" Sai guessed.

"Wrong spelling, but good one!" Shu said. "Nah, they're a sign of the chocobos' trust! Come on, let's go for a ride!"

Everyone chose chocobos, coaxing them into being friends.

"You don't have to be afraid." "Hello there!" "Come on, buddy." "Wanna go for a ride?" "It's okay, we're not gonna hurt you."

Sai pulled himself up onto his chocobo and noticed Charon staring at a chocobo blankly.

"No, not really," He told the chocobo. The chocobo cawed. "Yeah, but…okay, okay, I understand  _that_ …yeah…I  _know!_ "

"What's up?" Sai asked.

Shu giggled. "He's never ridden a chocobo before. He's not an animal person, works better with technology."

"Nevermind, I'll just fly," Charon snapped.

"Aw, look at how cute he is when he's angry," Shu crooned.

"I am  _not!_ " Charon shouted. Everyone looked at him. Even the chocobos. "…angry," He finished. "I'm not angry, I'm just…not a chocobo person. I don't ride them. I've always flown. You guys probably need them, but I don't."

"Come on, Chare," Shu urged. "You can ride with me!"

Charon looked at the chocobo hesitantly. He still preferred flying, but he didn't wanna deny Shu.

" _You_  got to drive the Velocycle,  _I_  get to drive the chocobo. It's a fair deal," Shu reasoned.

Charon couldn't deny  _that_. He only held out a few moments before floating up behind Shu and gently dropping down behind them.

"Okay, let's get this show on the road!" Shu announced.

"I think I'm getting the hang of this," Snow said, testing out his control over his chocobo.

"This'll certainly help getting around the Steppe for Cie'th Stone missions," Lightning pointed out.

"Chocobos can also dig up treasure," Shu informed them. "Don't be afraid if your chocobo starts to take a small detour. They know what they're doing. Oh, don't run them into too many monsters or they'll throw you off - a Tortoise and they'll drop you without a second thought. And they won't leave the Archylte Steppe."

"Lesson learned," Snow said. "Let's go already!"

"Try and keep up!" Fang called, urging her chocobo forward.

"Come on, boy," Hope urged.

"Here we go!" Vanille exclaimed.

"Back to the missions," Lightning reminded them. "We're here for a reason."

"Yeah, yeah," Sai said. "So, where we going?"

* * *

"WHEEEEE!" Shu shouted.

Charon was clinging for dear life as Shu urged their chocobo to jump over a large gap into the Oretoise sanctuary. They were up on the cliffs at the center of the area, a place that had once taken a large trip past the Oretoise and up some steps to get to before.

"You are a  _terrible_  driver!" Charon announced.

Their chocobo landed without a hitch.

"It's not called driving when you're on a chocobo, Chare," Shu corrected.

"Yeah? Well you're a terrible…whatever."

"Now you know how I felt with Velocycles. This is  _my_  territory. You and your chocobo have to be connected, you have to be adventurous just like they are. This is Gran Pulse!  _Live_  a little!"

"I am death and destruction and you're telling me to  _live?_ "

Shu nodded. "Yup. Aw, you said the words!"

Charon raised an eyebrow. "What words?"

"'I am death and destruction.' Totally called it before."

"Well I  _am_. Termination and death. As in, the end of the circle of life."

Shu frowned. "Not exactly how I imagined this moment. I thought it'd be cuter."

"I'm not cute."

"Yes, you are."

" _You're_  cute, not me. I'm the  _not_  cute one in this relationship."

"Aw, thanks!"

"Whoo!" Sai shouted. His bird came flying in with the other l'Cie behind him, and they hopped off their mounts. "So, what was it that you wanted us to see? And why has the sky turned green? I could've sworn it was blue a second ago. Actually, it's blue over there and not over here? Is it  _gray_  over there?"

"I think you're overthinking this," Fang said.

Shu slid off their chocobo (with Charon quickly following) and told the flock to wait for them. "Okay, it  _should_  be around here somewhere…"

"What are we looking for?" Lightning asked.

"A cactus. I  _swear_  he was here before."

"Friend of yours?" Snow asked.

"Well…sort of?"

Sazh turned and broke off from the group, looking up to one of the plateaus to see a dancing green figure above. "What's that?"

A little squeaking Cactuar danced above, its arms and legs each at a fixed 90-degree angle. It had round eyes and an oval mouth that went parallel with its body and three needles on its head like hair. It bounced around with a squeaking noise, its body almost like a stuffed animal, but in reality, it was tough as leather. It jumped down with more thrust than a creature its size should've been capable of with a cartoon-like ' _Boing!_ ' and landed on the plateau they were standing on.

"There it is!" Shu announced.

"Whoa! Chill out there, Greeny!" Sazh exclaimed.

The Cactuar seemed to take that as a challenge, running around at top speed with a whoosh, making them dizzy trying to follow its motions.

"Hey now! Stop that already!" Sazh demanded. "Oh, you're  _asking_  for it now!"

The Cactuar wasn't deterred. In fact, it hopped around tauntingly.

"All right, that  _does_  it! Come here, you!"

He dived for the Cactuar, but it zipped off with a 'Whooo!' sound, as if to say, " _Missed me, sucker!_ "

"Aw, you think you're  _real_  hot stuff, don't you?!"

The Cactuar jumped down the plateau to the Oretoise sanctuary and then zipped off.

"You just wait until  _next_  time, big…guy…"

"He's not  _that_  big, is he?" Shu whispered. "I mean, if  _that's_  considered  _big_ , then-"

"It's just a figure of speech," Sai said. "He's big in the ego."

"Ah," Shu nodded.

Sazh slumped. "Oh no, head spinning. Don't go hurling now…"

"Hey, it's back!" Charon called, pointing.

The Cactuar had gone all the way around the Oretoise sanctuary, climbed back up the plateau from behind and was doing its little dance.

"Time to kick some cactus," Snow announced.

"Please do," Shu said. "These things never listen to me. The plants on Pulse have grown out of control in my absence."

* * *

"Vanille, are we sure this is a good idea…?" Sai muttered.

She crept up to one of the large fuzzy sheep.

"Uhh…Vanille?" Snow warned, holding a hand out.

She put a finger to her lips and shushed the others. "Shh…"

"What is she doing  _this_  time?" Snow muttered to himself.

"Yeah,  _that's_  a good boy! Don't get  _mad_ …" She crooned as she slipped her hand into the sheep's fur.

She tugged on the wool, but it was stuck firmly to the sheep. The sheep looked to her with a mooing sound.

Vanille gave a nervous wave. "Hi…you're not  _mad_ , are you?" The sheep started to move away. "Ah! Wait! I  _just_ …need…a little…"

She held onto her fistful of wool and started tugging as the sheep tried to escape her.

"What are you doing?" Snow demanded. "Stop that!"

"Vanille, he's not very happy…" Shu muttered.

"…wool!" The chuck of wool snapped free with so much force that the fuzzy sheep fell on its side with a surprised moo. Shu helped it get back on its feet while Vanille held her prize up victoriously. "All right!" She slipped the wool into her bag. "Sorry about that. No hard feelings, huh?"

The sheep gave her a glare and a bleat. "There are hard feelings," Shu translated.

The fuzzy sheep wandered off to join its flock and probably warn them of the crazy l'Cie that took its wool. Then again, he seemed to forget the whole incident and went back to grazing on the grass a moment later.

"Wonder if these guys ever get  _mad_ ," Hope muttered.

"So why are we over here again?" Sazh asked.

"Well, there's another Cactuar, and a flock of Microchu creatures," Shu announced.

"Is that a bad thing?" Charon asked.

"Well, where there are Microchu, there are often-"

All of the Microchu squeaked and there was a roar from above. All they could see from below was a flower growing up on the cliff, but then a giant ball of greenery with a mouth jumped down. It had two tree trunks for feet that helped it stay stabilized, but it was literally just a semi-sphere of…something, rock or trees covered in moss. It had a giant mouth with at least four rows of teeth that could be seen, giant vines with flowers at the ends like whiskers, and two eyes right above its top lip that had small eyelashes. On its head was the large flower that they had seen before. The Microchu celebrated at their…mother(?)'s appearance by doing their little dances and squeaking in their Microchu language.

"Best not touch 'em if you don't know what you're doing," Charon said.

"So…" Shu began. "Who wants to volunteer to take down an Ochu?"

* * *

"That…was not amusing."

The Microchu had been annoying enough with their large numbers and relentless attacking, but when they pleaded to the Ochu, it used Pollen. Let's list all of the things that Pollen does: heals nearby Microchu, removes buffs from characters, inflicts Deprotect, Deshell, Poison, Imperil, Slow, and Curse, and buffs the Microchu with Bravery and Haste. Then, there was Screech, which did heavy damage and removed buffs. If they took down too many of the Microchu, the Ochu used Seed Dispersion to bring even more into the fray. Sentinels were necessary, staggering was a pain, it was a race to keep the buffs going for protection as well as offensive power, and the debuffs took forever with so many of the little ones there.

"Welcome to Gran Pulse," Shu said. "In any case, those weren't the hardest things ever. There's  _tons_  worse to go."

"Guess this is what you meant by Gran Pulse making us stronger," Lightning said. "There's constant fighting and no shortage of monsters."

"Right. But there aren't too many left to go."

* * *

"So, what are we doing back here?" Snow asked.

"The sky's green again," Sai noticed.

"Another Cactuar?" Lightning guessed.

"Kinda," Shu said.

"I think I see our prickly green pest," Sazh announced. "Come for another shot at ol' Sazh, have you?"

Up on the plateau where the Cactuar had been in the past, a ginormous cactus was dancing around in its regular position.

"Sweet mercy!" Sazh exclaimed.

"That…is a Gigantuar!" Shu announced. "Now  _this_  is what I'd call a 'Big guy.'"

The Gigantuar jumped down, but this time it wasn't nearly as impressive a jump since the cactus was taller than the plateau that it jumped down from.

"I don't believe we've met!" Sazh said.

The Gigantuar raced around in a circle, just like the other Cactuar before him had.

"I know that trot! It  _is_  you, isn't it?"

The Gigantuar danced around, seemingly happy at being recognized.

"Find yourself some fertilizer, did you? Well size ain't everything!"

Sazh launched himself forward to catch the Gigantuar, but it zipped away despite its size, hopping down into the Oretoise sanctuary and dancing away. It still looked like a stuffed animal with its bounce, it was just about a million times larger.

"Ran off  _again_ ," Sazh sighed. "Outrun by a cactus.  _Twice_." He dropped his head. "Oh no, everything's spinning…"

There was a whistle as the Gigantuar jumped back up to the plateau they were on, which normally would've taken the part that was carved out like stairs, but the cactus was so big now that it could just jump right up and run towards them to do its taunting dance again.

"You  _playing_  with me?" Sazh demanded. "I'll wipe that smirk off your face!" He drew his pistols. "Teach you to mess with Sazh!"

The Gigantuar had a 10,000 Needles attack that inflicted Pain and Fog and it was fast with those 10,000 Needles, just throwing them out constantly. Even when it was Provoked, it was never a guarantee of who it was going to attack.

"I hate these things," Shu muttered. "They're so mean!"

For Shu to hate a plant was a serious matter. It was a dangerous battle that required time. Sai, Lightning, and Sazh were the main attackers, Snow and Fang were Sentinels, Hope and Vanille were constant Medics, and Shu and Charon were healing the Pain and Fog that kept afflicting everyone constantly. Protect and Shell wouldn't help against the 10,000 Needles attack, and the Gigantuar kept dancing around, making it hard to physically hit. Luckily Sazh had pistols, so all he needed to do was aim and fire. Staggering wasn't an option without drastic measures, and it was honestly just faster to have Shu cast Bravera and Enfire on Sazh, Lightning, and Sai and have them attack for as long as they could before they were hit with an inevitable Pain before healing that Pain in turn. It was the same story with the Sentinels and Medics, letting them do their thing and healing then whenever they were stopped from doing their jobs. A couple of times they got in trouble but Fang spammed Daze as fast as she could to have the Gigantuar just standing there blankly while they healed up and put their buffs back on.

"I'm not a fan of those things," Sai sighed when it was over.

"That is  _literally_  the definition of half of Pulse," Charon said.

"One day, I'm gonna tame a Gigantuar and prove to the plants I mean business!" Shu snapped.

"You do that, Flower."

* * *

"Okay, so we've taken out Tyrants, Juggernauts, Ambling Bellows - why were there so many Ambling Bellows? - Humbaba behemoths, Zirnitra, Neochu and its Picochu, Raktavija, and many Oretoise," Sai announced. "Anything else in particular we took out?"

"The Undying," Charon said.

"That's such a cool name."

Charon smiled. "Just wait till you hear their titles."

"Bituitus the Pillager, Geiseric the Profane, Mithridates the Lone, Syphax the Insidious along with the Numidia, Zenobia the Butcher, Attacus the Soulless along with the Wladislaus, and Vercingetorix the Doomherald," Shu recited, reading off a leaf list in their hand. "We need to find Attacus with Titan before we can fight Vercingetorix, but at least we know where they are. Now all we need to do is find Yomi the Wings of Death, Gorgyra the Black Flame, and Raspatil the…well, Raspatil isn't really anything. She's just dangerous and weird looking. Find them and we'll have eliminated all of the Undying Cie'th! How  _far_  you've all come!"

"Technically we didn't slay Zenobia, that Tonberry did," Charon pointed out, fiddling with one of his Kozuka absentmindedly.

The group had settled down for the night in Oerba, taking a break to get their food and water as well as their rest. Oerba was a nice place, even at night, and it was a nice, relaxing break from all of their running around and fighting.

"Whatever, Chare. Anyway, that just means that we have to go and visit Titan in order to get him to give us Attacus. He's the last of the Undying that we need to fight in order to get to Vercingetorix. We fight Vercingetorix, and you guys will have slain everything that you can. I'd like to see Barthandelus stand up to you now."

"Have you ever wondered if we're playing right into his hands, getting stronger like this?" Hope asked. "I mean, he wanted us to become strong enough to destroy Cocoon, and by becoming our enemy, showing us how powerful he is, we're just doing what he wants."

"We're trying to get rid of our brands, Hope," Sai said. "Now that we're so powerful, we might as well finish up what we've started. If we can use this power to find a way to get rid of our brands, I'd say that it was worth the try. No matter how strong we get, we can choose who to fight. Worse comes to worse, we just let ourselves become another group of Cie'th, wandering aimlessly, hoping someone comes to save us from our misery. A few Cie'th versus the entirety of Cocoon?" He took a deep breath. "I don't wanna be a Cie'th, I  _don't_. But I also don't wanna be a murderer of my home. Besides, we're helping all of those Cie'th Stones, all those people who failed and were so miserable for so long that they turned to stone. If I turn into a Cie'th Stone, I know that I don't want anyone to destroy Cocoon or anything, but at least I'll know that there are a few dozen less stones out there. I wanna know I did  _something_  good before I passed."

There was a heavy silence among the group.

Shu jumped to their feet. "Hey! I said no negativity! Don't make me pull out a card game to get you all smiling again. I'll do it, I'm  _that_  crazy."

The all broke out into smiles.

"See? There we go!"

Charon chuckled. "We'll go see Titan tomorrow. For now, what's this card game you're talking about?"

* * *

"Look, that's Titan!" Vanille announced.

"What's a thing that size even  _eat?_ " Snow wondered.

"You name it," Shu said. "He's a biogenitor - chews up one species and spits out another."

"Great," Sai said. "Please tell me we don't have to fight  _him_."

"Oh, no. I brought you here so that he can judge your skill, but if  _everyone_  was put up against Titan to see if they could survive, Gran Pulse would be a wasteland. No, Titan chooses monsters to put you up against. Strong, but still more on your level."

"Wonder how the world looks from way up there all the time," Charon speculated. "Must be pretty boring."

" _Piteous l'Cie_ …" A large voice grumbled.

"It  _talks?_ " Hope exclaimed.

"Oh, looks like he sees us," Charon muttered.

" _The struggles of the frail and feeble end in loss. Better your lives' waters quicken the seeds of new_."

"Well that's not very nice," Sai said.

"What's it  _saying?_ " Hope demanded, a fist clenched. "The weak don't even deserve to  _live?_ "

Shu went over to a Cie'th stone on the ground and waved their hand up so that it activated. "Titan has plenty of trials ready for you, if you're up for it."

"Well last I checked, we're not exactly  _weak_ , are we?" Fang pointed out.

"How does it work?" Lightning asked.

Shu touched the Cie'th stone and an image appeared. "It's a grid system with six final monsters in all. You fight all of the rounds here, you win!"

"That means that it takes multiple runs through the same monsters to do them all," Snow calculated.

"Yup.  _But_  we can send in groups of three at a time. Unfortunately, Charon and I can't participate since we're fal'Cie and would skew the results of you l'Cie. Sai can't participate since he doesn't have his Eidolon yet and his brand is only half there, the other being on a fal'Cie. The circumstances surrounding him are definitely an outlier, and Titan doesn't want us to cheat. When the first group finishes the first fight, the second group can go in and do the same fight before branching off into another path. In the end, each group will only have to fight three final bosses and you'll have no choice but to handle the other fights on your way there. But look at the flow chart here. The only thing you have to worry about here is the D1 fight won't allow you to get to the E2 fight and the D4 fight won't allow you to get to the E5 fight. So just be careful that you don't choose the D1 or D4 fight twice or you'll just be repeating old stuff."

"Sounds simple enough," Sazh agreed.

"Let's make a battle plan," Fang suggested. "First groups take the complete top row and bottom row so that there's no confusion in the middle and then work your way down or up to the middle ones. I'll go with Lightning and Hope. Sound good?"

The others nodded and prepared their gear for a fight.

"All right! First group come forth," Shu said dramatically. "If you need to retreat, just use the stone that you've come from when you entered the area. It'll instantly bring you back here and you can restock and train again before taking on the trials if you need it. Just know that if you retreat, you have to restart."

Shu waved their hand over the Cie'th stone and the three of them started glowing. They were lifted up to hover just a bit above the ground before they were zapped away. The others waited a while Shu stared at the Cie'th stone. Though they saw nothing and there was no screen, Shu waited for the cue for the next group.

"Okay, you guys are up. Best of luck!"

* * *

Titan waved his hands over the last group and teleported them back to the start.

"Okay, that was all of the monsters," Lightning sighed.

"I've had enough of Neochu and Picochu and whatever," Fang groaned.

"And Raktavija and Zirnitra," Hope added.

"We had a Humbaba, a Tyrant, and Verdelet things that could summon monsters," Snow said. "Nothing too hard."

"Well, you've unlocked Titan's ultimate trial, and the final Cie'th Stone you need before we unlock the last Cie'th Stone of them all!" Shu announced.

"What is it?" Vanille asked.

"The second to last Undying," Charon said. "A Cie'th of incredible power and prowess with a sword. There is only one Cie'th more powerful, and even that can be debated based on resilience and unique skillsets."

"How do we get to it?" Sazh asked.

"The two of us can escort you through the trials once more," Shu said. "We'll handle the monsters that you've probably fought a dozen times now. We need to get over there to Titan. There, you will fight Attacus the Soulless."

* * *

The teleportation stone dropped them on the final path to Titan.

"You all prepared?" Shu asked. "Sai is allowed to participate on this one. We still aren't though, me and Charon. This is a battle for the l'Cie, to show Titan your power and that you're different from all of the others who have failed. You have one of the hardest Focuses in existence, but you're not doing this alone like many others. You've become friends, made bonds strong enough to transcend any danger. It's your comradery that makes you a strong group, the fact that you're in this together and that there are so many of you willing to overlook your differences, accept each other's flaws and mistakes of the past, and fight your fate together. Go show Titan what you're made of. He's a pretty tough judge-y judge, but even  _he_  has to see your power once you beat this. Plus, after this, there's only one more Undying to go across all of Pulse. At least the part that we can explore right now."

"And what happens if we fail?" Sai dared to ask.

"Well…I'm not so sure," Shu admitted.

"We can bail you out," Charon promised. "But Titan won't be impressed."

"You  _won't_  fail, though!" Shu jumped in firmly. "You've all got the tools you need. Assign people to offensive and defensive, and-"

"Shu."

"Oh, right. Not supposed to help. You guys know what to do, though. Just go on before I lose it."

Sai gave Shu a hug. "We're gonna be fine. You're a great help. I know we're gonna win just because you're on the sidelines cheering for us."

Shu smiled and waved as they walked off. The moment they were out of sight, Shu broke down.

"Oh, what if this was a  _bad_  idea?! What if we just sent them to their  _doom?!_ "

Charon took Shu's shoulders. " _Calm down_ , Flower. They're gonna be fine. You know them."

"I also know  _Titan!_  I mean, I thought this was a good idea a while ago, but it's not! It's not at all!"

Charon sighed and rolled his eyes, leaning in to kiss Shu. "It's gonna be  _fine_."

"Gonna be fine," Shu repeated. "Right."

" _L'Cie dwell outside the natural order. Should their strength fail them, they become the mindless foes of life itself._ "

"It's starting," Charon announced. "Come on, let's get our seats."

Shu nodded, and they flew up the mountainside, resting on a plateau above the battleground. Titan was just dropping a monster in front of the others as the two took their seats. Shu was gripping Charon's hand in worry, and Charon gripped it back. It was nice, being able to comfort Shu like that again. He enjoyed being the calm and collected one for when Shu needed him.

When Titan's large hand moved away, it revealed a Behemoth King that was already standing on two feet with its razor sword out.

"Oh, great, another one," Sazh sighed. "Nothing like witnessing the survival of the fittest first hand."

"There he is," Charon muttered.

A one-armed Cie'th with a yellow katana stood up on one of the plateaus calmly. Its weapon glowed with a faint dark smoke on the end, while its body had a large part on his back that protruded six crystal fingers, as though the Cie'th's torso was being held within a hand. There were four fingers on the Cie'th's left life with two on the right, so it would've been a six-fingered hand, but whatever. It drew the Behemoth King's attention, as well as the l'Cie.

"Is that the Cie'th?" Snow wondered.

The Cie'th in question jumped down into the battlefield with grace, its weapon held backhand so that it balanced out its owner's weight since the Cie'th only had one hand. It sprinted towards the Behemoth King, slicing at its stomach, and easily dodging an attempt at retaliation. It jumped up and over the Behemoth's head before landing behind it and stabbing it clean through. As the Behemoth King went limp, the Cie'th turned around so that their sword was in front of them and lifted the King of the ground, turning to toss it off the edge of the cliff.

"Once you're a Cie'th, killing's the only thing that comes naturally," Fang announced.

"Attacus," Shu muttered.

Attacus flicked his blade back clean and then into position behind him, holding it backhand.

"Keep a cool head and we'll nail this," Sai advised.

They went through the process of as many people as they could participating in the process of buffing the group up. Fang, in particular, had learned Bravera and Faithra, a more powerful version of Bravery and Faith that lasted a little shorter amount of time but gave them a significantly more powerful boost in strength and magic. The others had been branching out to learn the basics of roles they weren't formerly familiar with, which significantly increased the rate they could buff everyone up.

Attacus didn't hit too hard at first, but he was fast and relentless with his attacks. Fang and Vanille got on Deprotect, Deshell, and Slow while Snow used Challenge and then went into Mediguard. Attacus was near impossible to stagger, quickly anyway. It was a battle of switching around from Ravagers to Commandos to Medics and Synergists to keep the battle steady, but either way, it wasn't a very fast process. Despite the power that they had gained, their large hits were still doing very little to Attacus's overall health.

Still, they had a good strategy and were even able to go fully offensive, to the point where they actually shattered his weapon during their assault. The blade shattered into pieces and Attacus jumped back.

"Yes! That's how it's done!" Shu called.

Then Attacus summoned his Unrelenting Blade, reaching into his chest where his brand was as it glowed orange, energy pulsing throughout his entire body. There were screams of dying souls as Attacus ripped free a large red katana with a dark aura surrounding the entire blade. It was slightly thicker, curved at the end in two directions mimicking a small scythe, and definitely more powerful than his old blade had been.

"Ah!" Shu squeaked. "I can't watch!" They covered their eyes for only a second before they released them again. "Oh, but I  _have_  to watch!"

Attacus now ran over to the farthest person from the ones physically attacking it, Sai (who was casting spells at the time) and held his blade down in a sheathed position as dark wisps of energy gathered and flowed off the blade like steam, using Concentrate and charging up for a big hit, simultaneously dispelling the Slow status that Fang had inflicted. Snow went into Sentinel, and his natural damage reduction helped Sai take the hit, but it wasn't too strong in the first place. It would get progressively stronger in the future, but for now it was okay. Fang inflicted Curse and Slow on Attacus again before they continued their assault, hitting with amazing power, but Attacus had so much health.

They had to switch around to renew their buffs, and the next person that faced a Concentrate was Fang, this time Attacus dispelled both Slow and Curse. Fang tried to get the buffs back on, but then Attacus used another Concentrate on Snow and removed both Deprotect and Deshell, s she had to start all over again. The stagger, though far from being full, was at half capacity, and so they were striking as hard as they possibly could without some equipment allowing them to hit even harder.

They finally shattered the Unrelenting Blade, and Shu whooped before Attacus summoned the Peerless Blade from his chest, ripping it free from a purple glow in his chest this time as the finger thingies on his back retracted, as though injecting power into his body to create the weapon. This blade was enormous, resembling a tree branch as it broke out into multiple sections at the end to expand its size. This blade's aura covered the whole thing, glowing with a purple flame, and on the blade itself was a matching glow like it was a glow in the dark toy. It was definitely not a toy.

"Oh no!" Shu exclaimed, dramatically collapsing into Charon's lap.

He simply pet Shu, running his hands through their hair, and shushed them like he was calming a pet during a storm.

The others attacked before Attacus used Meditate, stabbing his sword into the ground and taking a defensive stance. Dark wisps of energy were building up from the sky, circling the blade and then absorbing into it and then the group. No debuffs were removed this time, but Fang was prepared as a Saboteur. Hope, who was still casting spells as a Ravager, was taken by surprise as Attacus waved his hand towards Hope and the dark wisps of energy shot out, only three of them hitting during the early stages of the attack, but they hit for more than half of his health each, so in a flash, Hope collapsed.

Lightning was the first to revive him and Sazh gave him his buffs back again before he went back to be a Ravager and helping keep the stagger gauge building. Snow Challenged and went into Mediguard, but even with his guard, Attacus was now hitting harder than ever. The others were battering him with all they had, and the next time that Meditate came, Fang was in Steelguard and only took half the damage, but she was inflicted with Slow.

It was a race to the finish to survive Attacus's fast attacks and keep the attacking up. With some Bravera and rapid attacks, Lightning was the person to get the last hit, throwing the Peerless Blade up and away and causing Attacus to stumble back. It did its Cie'th roar, barely staying in its feet, before the Peerless Blade landed in front of him. Attacus reached out for it, but collapsed, glowing as his Undying heart or whatever flew up into the sky and shattered.

"Whoo-hoo!" Shu cheered. "I  _knew_  you could do it! Never doubted them for a second."

Charon rolled his eyes but smiled at Shu's enthusiasm.

" _Fortune smiles upon the strong and worthy_ ," Titan rumbled. " _Surrender not to despair. The future of life's cycle goes with you_."

"Some endorsement, coming from the guardian of all life on Gran Pulse," Fang commented, her arms crossed.

Titan held his large hand over them and they teleported away.

"Yeah! You did it!" Shu exclaimed. "You've proven yourselves to Titan!"

"One more Cie'th to go, right?" Sazh asked.

"The final Undying who's come out now that you've defeated all the others," Charon agreed.

"So where is it?" Hope asked.

Shu put a hand to their chin, resting their elbow on their other arm that was across their torso. "Hmm, that  _is_  the question, isn't it? He'll only come out once we find the Cie'th Stone of the guy that was supposed to take him down. But we've checked all of Gran Pulse…"

"We haven't fully checked that bridge on Oerba," Snow pointed out.

"All we did was grab the parts for Bhakti and retreat back to the house," Lightning agreed. "Snow, you might be on to something."

"Then let's head over there," Sai declared. "The nearest Waystone is just down the path."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used a couple of these names for the monsters as the plural versions as well, the same way the plural of fish is just fish. Please, tell me how you think some of these monsters are pluralized. I'm very curious about this now.


	40. Come Day of Wrath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We'll kick his ass for what he's done to all of us, we'll save Cocoon, and then we'll all live together on a little farm and we'll name our children after Rei and Sai - and maybe Styx too if we have enough kids; yes, we need to make sure of that! - and then Sai and Rei will have kids named after us. I can just imagine a cute little Charon Jr! He'd probably be as adorable as you. And a little Shu! A little me would be so cute, don't you think?"
> 
> Charon chuckled. "Don't you think we should be a little more original?"
> 
> "But…but…a mini me!" Shu pleaded, looking as pitiful as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second part of another double update! I know! I'm so efficient!
> 
> But in reality I'm gonna be torn away from my computer as finals come up. I'll be working hard during Christmas break, but until then, I have to work hard on studying for my finals.
> 
> The last chapter really wasn't much, just the stuff leftover from my Thanksgiving break where I summarized all of the Cie'th missions as best I could. In essence, they defeated most of them and are now looking for the final Cie'th Stone for the Cie'th we've all probably loved to hate and hated to love and also used Poison on. You used Poison on it, admit it. Unless you didn't play the game…in which case, ignore me.
> 
> We are nearing da end ma friends! (I mean, unless you count the fact that I'm doing the sequels…oh yeah, I'm that crazy)
> 
> :)

"Hey, these flowers are still thriving up here!"

Shu walked up the stairs of the schoolhouse and smiled at the myriad of flowers and plants that were growing wild. Once there had been little gardens specifically for the students at the school to tend to, but without the humans, they had grown wild.

"There are even more flowers than I remember - even though no one's here," Vanille said solemnly.

"The flowers and their pollinators have survived, even thrived," Charon said. "Only the human inhabitants appear to have vanished."

"You guys had a  _fountain_  too?" Sai asked.

"Yup. All the buildings needed a water supply," Fang said.

"There's plenty of water at high tide," Lightning said, looking down.

The stairs down into the sand of the beach of Oerba had been submerged under the crystal water. It had turned the beach to slush and prevented them from getting to the regular stairway. Luckily the schoolhouse connected to the stone buildings that made up most of the village and what it had been founded upon, by the looks of it.

"There's that bridge we were looking for," Sazh pointed out from the roof.

"How do we get up  _there?_ " Sai wondered.

"There," Shu pointed. "That building is where workers of the train tracks…well, worked."

"Well, we've been over there when we explored before," Snow said. "Back when we were looking for parts for that robot. But it requires going all the way around the village thanks to that tree being in the way. The thing's practically growing across the entire village."

"Adam can let us through. Right, Adam?" One of the tree roots on the ground wiggled like an octopus tentacle. "See?"

They walked up the ramp near the Waystone where the large tree was, and it began to shift to let them through. They entered the small warehouse with a wandering Taxim or three and then headed up the stairs. The rooftop led straight to the train tracks, which were old, rusted, disheveled, and bent out of shape. There were still remnants of old train cars that had long since been destroyed, run off the tracks and even nearly blocking the entire bridge. Charon pushed one of the train cars out of the way so that they could make it through. The bridge was filled with Cie'th too, flying ones as well as big lumbering ones.

"Makes you wonder what these guys do for fun when they don't need to fight anything," Sai muttered.

"They just lumber," Shu said, holding their arms out to mimic the Cie'th. "Lumber, lumber, lumber. Lumber all day. Lumber all night. Lumber, lumber, lumber. They lumber like a pile of wood. Lumber, lumber, lumber. Hm…you know, the more I say it, the less it sounds like a word."

"True that."

They had to walk a section of the bridge that had broken in two. The only thing that connected the two locations was a single train track, not a fun thing to travel over if you were afraid of heights. The bridge had seemed to have cracked at one point, the two parts slanted in two different directions so that it made a kind of X shape, but the bridge seemed to have stayed together well enough, so they were able to cross without problems. Beyond that, the bridge appeared to end, the rest of it having fallen away. The setting sun in Oerba almost felt ominous as it reflected off the crystal sand and sea.

" _Ragnarok. Come Day of Wrath, O Pulse l'Cie…Embrace thy fate, thine home to burn…That fallen souls might bear our plea…To hasten the Divine's return. O Piteous Wanderer, Ragnarok…Make of this day a brave epoch. Deliver the Divine. Ragnarok._ "

Out of a small wisp of white light, a form appeared, walking forward, halting the group's progress at the sight. Serah stepped forward in all her human glory, not made of crystal. Her marriage pendant hung at her chest, gleaming like new. She chanted as though possessed, her motions robotic until she finally finished and stopped, halting in her walk as she smiled at them.

"What…?" Lightning muttered.

Snow, meanwhile, seemed enchanted at the sight of her, stepping forward eagerly but also confused. "Serah! H-How did you…?"

She smiled. "I was waiting. For you to  _open_  your eyes."

Whatever that meant.

Snow seemed convinced by it, stepping forward to embrace her. Sazh gave a suspicious glare while Hope and Vanille watched carefully. Charon and Shu exchanged glances.

" ** _Another phantom?_** " Shu asked through a mental link.

" ** _Maybe. It's hard to tell. She_ seems _real. I can't sense anything from her._** "

" ** _Me neither. But that_ can't _be her…can it?_** "

" _All_  the time I was asleep, I  _knew_  what was happening," Serah said. "I kept trying to think of a way to save Cocoon - together."

"Serah?"

Snow looked down to see her face and gasped, pushing her back. There was a blank look in her eyes, almost a dark one, something that definitely wasn't hers. But Shu and Charon couldn't sense anything wrong. What the heck? Serah stumbled at Snow's shove but rose calmly, staring Snow in the eyes as he reeled from horror.

"You get it now," She said, beginning to pace around the group. "There are no  _gods_  with  _miracles_  to save us, no matter  _where_  you look. That's why we have to  _call_  one."

Up above, an owl flew by - not a normal one. It was blue and white, mechanical.

" ** _Menrva,_** " Charon announced.

" ** _Where_ is _he?!_** " Shu panicked. " ** _I don't sense him! You?_** "

" ** _No, and I've known him for centuries now. He's watching, but from where?_** "

Serah stopped and turned with a smile, holding her hands together innocently and declaring with a cheerful tone, "Destroy Orphan! We'll save the  _world!_ "

"Stop it!" Lightning demanded, reaching for her gunblade.

"You can't  _do_  that," Serah smirked cheerfully, as though berating her older sister for cheating during a game. Her face and her tone contrasted heavily, as though she had to focus on one at a time. "You  _love_  me too much. You  _do_ , don't you  _Claire?_ "

Lightning flinched at the use of her name, dropping her defensive stance in her surprise.

" ** _Maybe he's controlling her?_** " Shu suggested. " ** _That_ has _to be it. He could release her from her crystal status. He's powerful enough, right?_** "

" ** _I don't know. Maybe?_** "

" ** _Then he could control her like this. But if that's really her-_** "

" ** _We can't harm her body if we want to get her back._** "

Snow sighed and stepped between them. " _Enough_  already!"

Sarah's smirk returned, contorting her face in a way that had probably never happened before. To those who knew her and those who didn't, it just looked wrong.

"Listen up," Snow continued lightly. "We are  _all_  shooting for the same goal here-"

Serah started to glow, shaking the ground from the force of the energy she was releasing. The others exclaimed in surprise, covering their eyes from the blinding light. The energy grew stronger, Serah disappearing in a flash of purple energy. Serah disappeared to reveal Barthandelus with Rei standing beside him, rolling her eyes with a hand on her forehead like she had a headache.

"All right, like the man said,  _enough_  already," Rei drawled. "Your acting skills are  _not_  on par, my lord."

" ** _So_ that's _why we couldn't sense him,_** " Charon realized. " ** _Rei was hiding his energy signature._** "

"Rei?!" Shu shouted.

She looked up at them. "Hey."

Shu flinched in surprise before their brow furrowed in anger. "' _Hey?!_ ' What do you  _mean_  'Hey?!' Who are you and what are you doing here?!"

She scoffed. "Always so  _slow_  on the uptake, aren't you? Isn't it  _obvious_  who I am? I've known you since you were first created; I saw the gods weave you from a  _little_  magic seed until you were the size of a pebble in my hand. I've watched you grow up as a little incompetent brat that needed my help at every turn, giving away  _all_  of my freedom for your sake. It was  _such_  a  _relief_  when you were gone, the first time I was actually  _free_  from your  _constant_  talking and whining and screaming."

Shu flinched before raising their sword. "How  _dare_  you use my sister's face to say that to me?! How dare you even  _try_  with that with  _any_  of us?! That is a new  _low_  mister! You are  _sick!_ "

Shu's sword was brought down aimed for Barthandelus, but it was stopped by Rei's hand as she twisted it and then threw Shu to the ground using their sword as a fulcrum. "I was always stronger than you, little one. You were always the weakest of us all while  _I_  was the strongest. A pity. Both Styx and Charon are younger than you are, love, but you are just a little baby compared to the rest of us."

She dropped Shu's sword beside them as Shu tried to regain their breath from having the wind knocked out of them. Meanwhile, Charon ran up to Rei wielding his Wakizashi, but she turned and held her hands out for him to proceed.

"Gonna kill me again, dark one?"

Charon felt his muscles freeze up and he stopped before he could deal any damaging blow. The tremor in his hand began to return.

"That's what I thought."

The twisted her body and kicked his head from the side, sending him flying across the bridge and rolling to a stop a good distance away, his sword skidding to a halt a few meters from him.

"Charon!" Shu scrambled to their feet despite the aching in their torso from being thrown and rushed over to Charon, collapsing beside him. "Chare? Charon!"

He was alive, if unconscious.

Even back when Charon was in Barthandelus's control he had felt guilty about his actions and even had enough free will to resist. In contrast, even if Barthandelus had brought Rei back from the dead, this wasn't how she would act. She was powerful, even without her swords, and she was enjoying throwing the two of them around with barely any effort.

"What did you do to my sister?!" Shu demanded.

Barthandelus spread his arms. "I  _perfected_  her.  _Death_  has made her a more powerful force than  _ever_ before, and it is her  _destiny_  to fulfill the role for which she was born. So long has she  _denied_  her fate, unaware of the future she holds within. You have held her back all her life; this so-called  _love_  has proven to be your greatest vulnerability and detriment. Hotareichan shall prove useful in my affairs, a servant of the world as she should be, using the tools at her disposal to return the Maker to this world."

"You…" Charon growled, fighting to stay conscious. "You bastard…"

Rei smiled. "The floating shell shall fall soon. I can't  _wait_  to see you struggle, futilely fighting for your planet when your hope is lost. I want to watch the confidence and stubbornness fade from your eyes, see the hope die within you as you face the end of days with the rest of your worthless kind!"

Snow clenched a fist and stepped forward. "You  _son_  of a-!"

He attempted to punch Barthandelus, but the fal'Cie disappeared before he could make contact, flashing over to be a few feet away. Snow quickly recovered, getting to his feet, and charging in for another hit, but this time he was thrown back by a forcefield.

"You  _betray_  your fal'Cie to chase after  _dreams and shadows_ ," Barthandelus declared. "The world you claim to  _wish_  to protect now faces the end of days with no hope of salvation."

"I didn't think  _fal'Cie_  had the  _means!_ " Lightning shouted.

"Oh, it won't be  _fal'Cie_  who destroy her. For  _centuries_  now, Cocoon has provided  _generously_  for its human inhabitants' every want and need.  _Coddled_  them, one might even say. The result being…their deep-seated  _fear_  and  _hatred_  of change and  _all_  things alien." Menrva landed on a nearby beam of metal jutting out from the broken bridge. "Fed, nurtured, and ready to detonate at the  _slightest_  spark. The seeds of destruction take root, even  _now_."

"What did you do to Cocoon?!" Sai demanded, raising his swords.

"I resigned, appointing Raines as Primarch in my stead."

"Raines?" Snow gasped. "He's  _alive?_ "

Barthandelus chuckled. "The puppet is restrung to serve my needs, yes. Its eyes had long since turned to glass."

Snow clenched a fist in anger while Vanille dropped her head with Fang at her side and Charon's eyes darkened. Shu rested their hand on his wrist, trying to convey their message. Cid had been just like Charon, a slave to fate thanks to Barthandelus. For a moment, it seemed like both of them had escaped, in a way. Cid had turned to crystal, better than being a Cie'th. Now, even death couldn't free him.

"Of course, the  _Cavalry's_  eyes will see our friend as nothing more than a traitor to their cause," Barthandelus continued, turning, and pointing his staff up to Cocoon in the sky. "They'll say ' _The fal'Cie got to him too_ ,' or some such drivel. And  _imagine_  - when I spread the world that it's  _Orphan_  tugging at his strings - what happens next."

The others shifted defensively, ready to attack at any moment.

"Wha-? You're gonna use the  _Cavalry_  to take the thing out?!" Sazh demanded.

He smirked and chuckled. "Perhaps. Or perhaps I'll feign the howling of Pulsian wolves and let the fear-addled sheep slaughter  _themselves_  first! Either way, the  _end_  is at hand!" He spread his hands and laughed. "But what of  _yourselves?_  Will you  _enjoy_  the festivities  _beside_  me? Or perhaps…"

He raised his staff as energy began to build around him, lifting off the ground. His staff began to glow brightly and might've looked holy if it weren't Barthandelus. Menrva the owl flew from her perch into the light at Barthandelus's staff as it exploded outward into a blinding light that changed Barthandelus's form to his true form. This time, his body was white and gold rather than brown and gold, and his face was hidden behind a mask, split down the middle with a ridge that resembled some kind of skateboard ramp, either side of his face concave up to that part, and at the top was what could only be described as cat ears of metal. Beyond that, his basic design hadn't changed: a torso hunched over with his two large arms - sharp nails and the brand of Lindzei on each. The only things he didn't have were the Pauldrons and Ailettes, those four heads that had been connected to his own like some sort of weird helmet armor.

 _"_ _Greet the end here, in the land where it all began_?"

"Well, Shu? Are you gonna stop me, or am I going to have to  _destroy_  you and your friends?" Rei asked.

Shu tensed and looked to the l'Cie. They wouldn't survive a full assault against both Rei  _and_  Barthandelus together.

"No…" Charon started to regain his strength. "No, I…I won't let you…"

"Ah, still have some  _fire_  in you, don't you, dark one?"

Shu realized that Charon was trying to sit up, but he wasn't strong enough. He continued trying anyway, holding his hand out as his Wakizashi returned to his hand. He stabbed it into the ground to push himself up.

"So, you  _do_  have strength. I wouldn't expect anything less. You and I are creation and destruction, the two most important and most powerful parts of life. Neither growth nor atrophy would exist without us. But just remember…" She let her eyes flash a fiery red that faded to purple at her pupil and at the edges of her iris. "I've beaten you before, I can do it again. I  _am_  the oldest."

He stood on his feet, his sword in his hand. "I have strength you don't know about, Hotareichan. I  _will_  get you back."

She tapped her temple. "Ah, but that's the thing, see. There's nothing to get back in here. I'm not sure you can  _handle_  what's here after you ruined me."

" _Barthandelus_  ruined you, he's ruined all of us." Charon's head lowered. "You…you  _broke_ …her, you bastard…!" Charon muttered. "Rei loved and was strong for it. Love makes us stupid, it makes us afraid of losing it and afraid of facing it. But it makes us strong. It made  _her_  strong, it made her kind and wise and loyal and loving. It made her protective and understanding and it made her want to give up everything she had to save what she loved. I will atone for my crimes against Rei, I will save her."

"I'll enjoy watching you try. Well then, shall we, Mataecharonsan?" Rei taunted. "We finally have the room to do this the old-fashioned way, true form on true form."

Charon narrowed his eyes as they shifted to be slit like a snake's, turning silver as his sclera turned black. "Bring it on."

"Be careful, Chare," Shu warned.

He nodded. "I will be."

Rei cracked her knuckles and stretched. " _Finally_ , a fight that I might actually have to put some  _effort_  into. Do try to put up a decent fight this time."

She jumped into the air and began to grow, her body setting ablaze with fire as she transformed into an enormous bird. Her feathers were mostly a fiery red, fading to orange and yellow at the ends before the feathers turned into flames. The tips of her wings and tail were purple, her tail flowing and long with a blazing and colorful flame. It took a moment for them to realize that her feathers were actually swords - all of them were blades that began to shake and detach as she let out a bird's screech. The sword-feathers that detached were replaced by new ones that instantly came back in while the others hovered in preparation for battle.

Charon expanded into his dragon form, his wingspan just as wide as Rei's and his Kozuka detaching to hover around him - not nearly as many as Rei's swords, but still effective.

There was a moment of silence between them before they both let out their respective creatures' battle cries - a screech and a roar. They charged in and clashed in an explosion in the sky.

* * *

Lightning flicked her gunblade in preparation. "All those lies…"

"We're  _not_  your damn  _dogs!_ " Fang shouted.

Barthandelus's first attacks consisted of a simple red laser from the front of his faceplate. Vanille started getting Deprotect, Deshell, and Imperil on Barthandelus and Fang managed to get on Slow while the others worked on staggering him. They went with their normal strategy with tough opponents - buffs, debuffs, stagger, destruction, heal when necessary. Learn the tough attacks for when Sentinels are needed, understand the enemy can change tactics at any moment, and be quick to adapt. They had been turned into a well-oiled machine of experienced fighters - not only as individuals, but as a team.

They were more offensive for the beginning, as Barthandelus only had the one laser attack that wasn't dangerous unless they let the damage add up. Barthandelus was easy to stagger as he was simply a target at first, but once they had done enough damage, two of Barthandelus's extra heads appeared in front of his face armor - this time facing right side up, opening and closing their mouths like they were chanting something, and accompanied by a pair of metal angel wings at the sides and an armor part going up and over the back of Barthandelus's neck. The heads were each held inside of some kind of column, like they were being put on display, and they were now shooting blue lasers much more frequently.

Barthandelus started to cast debuffs like Cursega and Poisonga, but the most annoying was Dazega, which hit pretty frequently. Granted all it did was waste a few seconds since the laser attacks still didn't hit very hard and knocked them out of the debilitating Daze status. Barthandelus was quick in his casting, but Vanille and Hope were a faster team when it came to their healing - not to mention the others were resisting some of the statuses so that they hit less frequently. Barthandelus got a few Scourges to the face(s) from Fang, Sai, Lightning, and Snow - Fang and Sai's actually hitting for more damage than Lightning or Snow's since they had multiple hits for their Scourges as well as the super high 999.9% stagger gauge from the others' Ravager efforts.

It was a repetitive story with Barthandelus at that point - healing the status ailments and damage, renewing the buffs and debuffs, and then casting Ravager spells to stagger the guy with the Commandos ready to do the damage. When the damage began to add up, two more of Barthandelus's extra head things appeared, expanding the row with the wings on the edges gaining another layer and the large armor part above Barthandelus's body growing as well. Beyond that, the biggest problems were only that when Barthandelus cast his spells he lifted his head, forcing the physical attackers to jump up to reach him and then have to wait to fall back down to strike again.

After another stagger and a barrage of damage, Barthandelus braced himself, rearing up and charging energy, a light glowing from in between the middle two columns before there was a flash and Barthandelus's real face was finally revealed. The metal plates that made up his face shifted and adjusted as they settled into place with the extra four heads now on either side of his big face.

" _You_ crave _death's release?_ "

He raised his head high to be completely vertical, the four of his heads and all the armor connected to it shimmering as a white aura flooded over them like water. Once they were completely encompassed in the aura it exploded outwards in a magical blast that swept across the battlefield. It wasn't a very damaging blast, but the Apoptosis attack got rid of all of Barthandelus's status ailments as well as the group's status enhancements. Fang and Vanille got to work as Saboteurs while Hope and Sazh got to work as Synergists, but Barthandelus's four heads were using their laser attacks at a maximum frequency, shooting a barrage of the beams that required a more defensive tactic with healers and Sentinels.

Barthandelus still cast only Cursega, Poisonga, and Dazega, the final of which being very little of a problem with the sheer number of lasers hitting the group and solving the Daze issue. Though Barthandelus himself had very few moves compared to their last encounter, he still had Thanatosian Laughter, rearing up as his face split open to reveal the myriad of blasters beneath the initial panels that made up his face. The blasters charged up before releasing a wave of small laser attacks at the group that did some significant damage. Those who could be Sentinels went into Sentinel mode to defend with Mediguard and Steelguard and the Medics were quick to recover the damage done, even if a lot of them came close to passing out.

" _Fulfill your focus!_ "

It was another long story of staying alive from the laser attacks, renewing the buffs and debuffs from Apoptosis, healing the status effects that hit, and taking advantage of any stagger they were able to attain. It was a fight where there wasn't a moment to rest, not a moment that allowed for a lapse in concentration, but it was only a matter of time before they would outlast Barthandelus. At least, that was the hope.

* * *

Rei and Charon clashed in the skies once more, this time on a much grander scale.

Rei herself didn't have much power, but her blades were more mobile and very damaging to Charon who had no way of defending against the small projectiles. His own Kozuka clashed with a good deal of Rei's blades, but she simply had too many for him to handle. However, he simply powered through the hits as he charged in and slashed at Rei with his claws, and she had no defense against that besides her speed to try and dodge out of the way. Both of them were experts on flying, their large wings each providing them an equal amount of mobility, so it was anyone's guess at who would win.

Charon was going ferociously offensive. He clawed at Rei's wings, slicing at her metal feathers with the sound of clanging metal. Her blades fought back, stabbing and slicing at his metal body and causing him to roar in pain and anger. Her weapons gathered together to make a kind of sling underneath Charon's body, and Rei twisted her body in the air to flip Charon over her and then slam him down into the crystal mountains below where they were fighting.

"Charon!" Shu called.

Charon rolled to his feet and shook himself off before taking flight again, using his wings to give him an initial boost as he jumped up and then tackled Rei out of the sky, using his weight to bring her down. He pinned her wings even as her blade feathers swarmed around him like a bunch of bugs. She used her talons and pulled her body up so that she dug her claws into Charon's belly and shoved him off, pulling herself vertically again and raising her wing to strike at Charon. He raised his wing to block, but his wing wasn't as resilient as hers - as his wasn't specifically meant for battle while hers were literally made for it - and so he was sliced hard and staggered back as his wing bled black.

He twisted his body defensively to protect his injured wing before taking a deep breath and letting out a blast of colorful fire-breath, and not just any colorful fire-breath - the same colored fire-breath as his Zanmato blade's power. As Rei was already on fire and presumably immune to flames, it was unexpected when she reeled from the fire and it burned her, eating away at her metal wing like acid. Charon continued his fiery assault, and since her blades couldn't stop the flames, Rei raised her intact wing and smashed it down into the crystal sand, sending a wave of the crystal into the flames and blocking Charon's fire as it turned the sand to molten crystal glass.

Rei pulled her injured wing in defensively and concentrated her flames on the damage, and to their surprise, her fire started to repair the damage, restoring her blades and any injuries she'd sustained. She was creation, Charon remembered. She could create any parts of her that were lost or damaged, and she could use her blades to create anything. She could make her blades come together like nanobots to make any shape with any effect that she wanted. Not to mention the fact that Rei knew a lot of powerful healing magic. Charon didn't have that advantage, and it was going to cause him problems, no doubt. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before Charon's strength gave way and Rei's would still be at full force. The only way to win would be to outlast Rei's powers until she didn't have enough left to heal herself, but it was unlikely that he would be able to do that. Though Rei's power would decrease every time she restored herself, the restoration would leave her in a better position to fight no matter how much energy she'd lost.

Not good.

Rei launched forward with a screech, her flying capabilities fully restored, so she could launch through the air as fast as a hawk, pushing against the air for the boost in speed. Charon shifted his weight so that he rolled under Rei's attack just as she would've plowed into him, taking her momentum and using it against her so that he redirected her into one of the dunes. He pounced on her and the two clawed at each other in another chaotic scuffle, but Rei knew Charon's weakness. She had one of her free flying blade-feathers stab Charon's injured wing, causing him to roar and let his guard down long enough for Rei to push him down and pin him, her blades conglomerating on him - both on his injury and at the rest of him as he blindly tried to defend against the small blades by swatting at them. He blasted fire from his mouth, but Rei had him pinned so that he couldn't move his head to aim at her or her weapons.

"No!"

Shu ran forward, expanding into their true form - a large, fully-grown mechanical lion. Their body was still slightly stiff from the wound Dahaka had left in their stomach, every movement reminding Shu that it was there, but at the moment, they ignored it and charged forward. Shu roared and bared their sharp teeth, tackling Rei off of Charon and sending them both tumbling through the crystal mountains. Shu kicked and sliced blindly before pushing Rei off of them and into one of the mountains of crystal. Shu quickly got to their feet and ran over to Charon, licking his face and then moving to his injured wing that had now been filled with holes and tears. Shu licked at the wounds as they started to heal and repair themselves before Shu moved to use their healing lick on the rest of Charon's cuts.

Rei had just recovered and shook all the crystal sand free from the nooks and crannies of her metal blade-feathers as Charon got to his feet, feeling much better, even refreshed. He gave Shu an appreciative lick that had Shu humming in approval. Charon then surged forward and renewed his fight with Rei. She took flight, forced to be more defensive against him and retreat further from his stronger close-ranged attacks. They clawed at each other, slashing and burning, and in the scuffle, it was almost hard for Shu to keep track of it all.

The two clashed, claws to claws, claws to blades. In an explosion, the two were flung far away from each other. Both recovered in the air, but while Rei's wounds were healing, Charon's weren't, and he was getting exhausted again. He couldn't just call a timeout and have Shu heal him again, but his own healing powers weren't enough. He would heal if he had a few minutes - it wasn't as though he healed as slowly as humans did, but Rei was strong and did some real damage on par with his fal'Cie. They were equal in strength, but Rei's specific power would help her hold out for longer. Charon just needed a clear and sustained shot with his Zanmato fire and he could win. All Rei had to do was chip away at Charon, bit by bit, and keep him unable to heal.

They charged in again for battle. All that could be seen was a blur of color and blackness, fighting for superiority. Rei was the sleekest and agile, so it wasn't a surprise when she out-maneuvered him and Charon was flipped over Rei's back, slammed to the ground once more. She sliced at his legs, and his attempt at avoiding the attacks and defending himself ended with him getting struck in the shoulder instead. He didn't have his arm chopped off, but his front left arm was badly damaged.

Shu roared and flicked their tail, which sharpened to metal making it a blade - specifically the large weapon that Shu wielded in their human form. They stabbed their tail-sword into the ground and a wave of energy pulsed throughout the area, causing plants the plants all the way from Oerba to start shifting. They dug through the crystal, before suddenly the entire area around Shu erupted with plants ripping their way through the dunes and shooting skyward to grab Rei in the sky. She clawed at the vines and tree roots with her talon and slashed at them with her blades, but the sheer number of plants wrapped around her and pulled her down to the ground.

Charon got to his feet and lumbered over, limping on his injured leg, and Shu released the plants surrounding Rei's body but kept a heavy number of them on the ends of Rei's wings and around her ankles. Her blades were slicing at them, but they were fighting an impenetrable force as the plants hardened and solidified as though they had been there for ages. Charon released a blast of his Zanmato flames upon her, to purify or destroy her, Charon wanted the former but if he was unable to, it would be the latter. There would be no more using Rei against them, they had to accept that she was gone, and they had to move on, so no more of this crap. No more fear and guilt and false hope. It was time to destroy this fake imitation of her and put an end to all of this.

It was time to say goodbye.

* * *

" _Die_ , you son of a bitch!" Sai shouted as he attacked.

This fal'Cie had taken away so many lives and planned to take away so many more. He brought all of them into this: making all of them l'Cie, taking Fang and Vanille to Cocoon after the War of Transgression to start this whole chain of events, capturing Rei and Styx, forcing bargains out of Charon and Shu, ending in Rei and Styx dying with Charon and Shu being scarred forever, and now he had the nerve to use Rei - whatever she was now - to haunt them all with a cruel version of her that may or may not have the part of her that had made Rei… _Rei_  inside there. It was pure evil, pure malice, heartlessness - all for the sake of destroying a world just to bring back a sleeping god, and who knows what would happen after that?

What would it take to stop this thing? What would it take to stop all of this misery?

They led a full-on assault, striking with all the power they could. Barthandelus writhed glowing bright white as he collapsed and then his body vaporized. A single light remained, floating up like a firefly before flaring to reveal Barthandelus in his human form walking forward once again, healthy as ever. Man, this guy was like Snow - no matter how hard you hit him, he still got up.

They were saved from a monologue when Charon and Shu flew over (now in human form once more) with Charon's arm over Shu's shoulder and Shu's arm around his waist for support, Charon dropping a defeated Rei at his feet. "Hotareichan is not yours to use. Not anymore."

Barthandelus regarded them passively. "Perhaps you are stronger than I had  _presumed_.  _Congratulations_ , you have defeated your former companion once more. Does it not  _fill_  you with pride? Does it make you  _surge_  with joy at your victory? Or is it an empty victory because it was not  _your_  victory? You could not defeat Hotareichan  _alone_."

Charon's eyes narrowed. "Your point? I am  _stronger_  without you and  _with_  Asushunamir."

He felt Shu's grip on his waist tighten in gratitude.

Barthandelus waved off Charon. "Believe what you wish. You are a slave to your emotions, you cannot attain your full power when you taint your heart pretending to be human. You are not, and you are broken to think such. It is because of your foolish delusion of a heart that you were so easy to manipulate, and your sister died for her foolhardy beliefs of love as well."

Charon grit his teeth. "How dare you-?"

"Chare!" Shu held onto him tight and held him back. "Don't let him get you."

" _Everything_  that I've done for you…every  _sacrifice_  I made, every  _order_  I followed without complaint!  _Everything_  I did, and  _she still died!_  You took away  _everything_  I loved for your own  _petty_  schemes! I will  _destroy_  you, Barthandelus! On my life, you will  _perish!_  You shall have your prize which you've waited for  _so_ long torn away from you right before your eyes! You will know what it's like to have all your hopes and efforts shattered and be left with  _nothing!_  I will make you  _SUFFER!_ "

"Charon?" Shu asked meekly. They wanted to say, ' _What about me?_ '

Charon lowered his head. "600 years," He muttered. "600 years I put up with that bastard. I lowered myself to follow his commands, do all he told me, no matter how I felt. Now he's taken Rei, did to her what he wanted to do to me - make me complacent, remorseless,  _ruthless_. He's going to take everything that  _you_ have, Shu. He's gonna keep taking over and over and over and  _ruining_  peoples' lives,  _destroying_  them, until he gets what he wants. Quite literally." He looked up to Cocoon. "I'll stop this endless cycle, I  _will_. For my sister, for Rei, for you. No matter what it takes."

Shu's gaze dropped. "Just don't destroy yourself in the process, okay? Don't get lost in the past again."

Charon looked up to Shu sadly before averting his eyes.

"The time has come," Barthandelus announced.

Everyone had their weapons at the ready again, prepared for another fight. Barthandelus just smirked at their efforts.

"Allow me to  _extend_  my  _invitation_." He raised his staff. "To  _save_  a people beyond  _salvation_ , there is  _only_ Ragnarok."

He tapped the end of his staff against the ground as Menrva flew out, circling around the group before glowing and revealing another ship that landed at the end of the bridge.

"Cocoon  _suffers_ ," Barthandelus said firmly. " _Release_  her from the pain."

He turned and walked off, disappearing calmly like a ghost.

The other sighed and dropped their battle stances. Ran away again.

"He seems pretty unfazed by the fact that we just kicked his ass again," Sai muttered.

"That's what he does," Charon muttered, crossing his arms. "I doubt he was even trying here, the bastard. He just came here to lure us to Cocoon. If he killed us, that would defeat the whole purpose. Plus, he wanted to give us a free pass back."

Charon nodded to the airship.

"Hey, check this out." Shu walked over and kneeled beside a Cie'th Stone that had been lying on the ground. "This was the stone we were looking for, at least. But…there's something different about it. There's an extra message. Maybe it's what we were looking for. Maybe it's got some answers for us."

"So, this is the  _end of the rainbow_ , huh?" Sazh asked. "Well, here's hoping the pot's full of tips on dealing with crackpot fal'Cie."

"You know, I don't remember this  _being_  here before," Fang said. "I guess it's  _new_ , huh?"

"Yeah,  _must_  be," Vanille nodded.

"It wasn't here during your time?" Shu asked.

"I suppose it  _might_  be a record of what happened," Charon said. "After the war, after you turned to crystal."

Shu put their hand up to the Cie'th Stone and a green light shimmered beneath their hand, growing brighter and brighter. "Here, I can project it for you."

Shu took a step back as a beam shot forward and then expanded into a large circular green screen, decorated with fancy Pulsian runes and artwork. Everyone exclaimed in surprise as Pulsian script began to form on the screen, flowing forward into two rows of text - the top, then the bottom.

"Neat," Sai said.

"'Cocoon, where the  _slaves_  of Lindzei dwell, is the  _enemy_  of  _all_  life fostered by Pulse's  _sacred_  hand,'" Shu read. The two lines of text each flowed up and down respectively to make room for the next two rows to come sliding in, the top from the right, the bottom from the left. "'So our  _fal'Cie_  determined Pulse's will,  _chose_  l'Cie, and gave them a  _Focus_ : Become Ragnarok, and bring about the  _end_  of Cocoon. And so the beast arose, defeated Lindzei's  _hateful_  fal'Cie, and prepared to tear Cocoon  _apart_. But Her Providence  _betrayed_  our l'Cie, draining Ragnarok of strength. Their Focus only  _half_  complete, the l'Cie were taken to the enemy's land…by Barthandelus,  _curse_  his name. And the Goddess said: "L'Cie who rest upon Cocoon will reawaken,  _however long_  they may wait. Children of the Goddess shall come together and deliver unto the world Her blessings. And Ragnarok will rise anew, given the strength of the gods beyond any power seen before, to  _tear_  the land from its seat in the sky." Her word…is absolute.'"

The screen disappeared, retreating back into the Cie'th Stone.

Sazh turned away, sighed, and sat down. "Guess the jig is up."

"Cocoon's done for, isn't it?" Hope asked.

"Hey, don't sweat it. If we go ahead and smash Cocoon, you  _know_  some Maker's  _sure_  to roll up and save the day!" Sazh said sarcastically.

Snow put his hands to his hips and sighed, turning back to the group. "As long as fal'Cie like  _that_  are around, this fight is  _never_  gonna end." He held up a fist. "So let's  _finish_  it. Let's get Dysley."

Sazh jumped to his feet, throwing his hands up. "So what do we do about  _Orphan?_ "

"We  _help_  Orphan," Fang declared. "What else can we  _do?_  If we can manage to keep it  _safe_ -"

"Another war breaks out somewhere down the road," Lightning interjected. "We're l'Cie. It's not like we can  _make_  people stop  _fighting_."

"What if we try to open their eyes?" Sai asked. " _Somehow_  there  _has_  to be a way to get the truth out. If we can tell the public about the fal'Cie plan…?"

"How would we get them to believe us?" Charon asked. "The entire planet is convinced that Pulse is some dangerous force out to get them. Barthandelus has all the cards here. He's got the public under his thumb."

"What if we just take all the plants on Cocoon and grab all the people and put them in a room and try to make them listen?" Shu suggested.

"That'd…be a bit of a stretch," Charon said.

"We can't just  _force_  people to understand our position," Lightning sighed. "They don't trust us enough already, but if we come claiming that everything they've ever known is a lie, saying that the world is being threatened, not by us though, but by their own oh-so-benevolent leader, with no definitive  _proof?_  They'll never believe us."

There was a collective sigh of silence.

Hope looked down in thought before he raised his head. "Lightning…you told me on Cocoon: It's not a question of  _can_  or  _can't_. We just  _do_  it. That's our only  _choice_  this time." His hands clenched into fists at his sides. "Maybe it won't  _do_  much. Maybe only  _one_  person will listen to us. But even  _then_ , isn't  _trying_  better than doing  _nothing?_ "

Vanille broke out into a smile, surging forward and taking him by the shoulders eagerly. "Because ripples can make  _waves!_ "

"Okay, kids have gone  _crazy_ ," Sazh muttered.

"Revolutionaries  _always_  get called crazy," Sai pointed out.

Vanille chuckled, clasping her hands together behind her as she stepped forward. "When  _I_  was on Cocoon,  _I_ wished on those  _fireworks_." She looked up to the sky. I wished…to not let  _anything_  happen to Cocoon this time. But I shouldn't have wished for that."

Everyone looked up to her in surprise.

She turned to them firmly, smiling. "Wishes aren't  _enough_. Prayers  _either_. This time, I'm making a  _promise_. I  _will_  keep Cocoon safe. I  _promise_ , no  _matter_  what."

"I guess it takes losing  _everything_  to make you see how much you have to  _fight_  for, huh?" Charon said.

"And we're the  _only_  ones who can do it, right?" Snow asked, putting a hand on Hope's shoulder.

"Right," Hope nodded.

Fang chuckled and held her arm up. Vanille smiled and turned to bump forearms with her. Lightning and Sazh smiled at each other while Shu gave a two-handed high five (or high  _ten_ ) to Sai and then to Charon, who laughed before putting his hands up for Shu.

"All right then," Lightning announced. "Let's tie up loose ends."

"Okay," Hope nodded.

"Right," Fang agreed.

"All right," Snow smiled, putting his hands behind his head.

"Yeah!" Vanille exclaimed.

There was a light groaning sound from behind them and they all turned to realize that Rei was waking up. She was burnt badly and struggled to sit up, wincing at her injuries.

"She  _survived_  that?" Shu muttered.

"That shouldn't be possible," Charon muttered. "I used everything I had. She was dead, she  _was_."

"Rei?" Sai called.

She looked over as though just noticing them. She spotted Sai first and her eyes locked onto his.

"Sai…you're okay…"

She collapsed.

"Rei!" He sprinted over to her and kneeled down taking her into his arms. "She's  _alive_. Why was…how is she here? This is really… _how?_ "

He looked to Charon and Shu for answers, but they shared a confused glance. "Barthandelus must've brought her back," Charon guessed.

"Why would he do that?  _How?_  I mean, if he could do that, why not bring back Styx so he could have Charon under contract again?"

Shu and Charon exchanged looks again.

"What if…what if it was  _Charon?_ " Shu suggested.

"How so?" Sai asked.

"I mean his Zanmato blade brought  _me_  back, it has that power. What if, when he started to accept himself, accept what he'd done…what if it brought her back?"

"And under  _Barthandelus's_  control?"

"Revival is a complicated thing. Rei told me that when something is brought back from death you have to be careful with it at the beginning, that revival makes a creature vulnerable since their soul has just returned to them after leaving, something that's not supposed to happen. It just takes a little bit of corruption for the revived creature to be controlled. It's happened before. We once had this friend named Jonah and he died, but Rei brought him back so that he could be with his girlfriend, but then he ended up getting corrupted by this evil Eidolon that escaped the realm of the dead inside him and so his girlfriend ended up being given the Focus to kill him. It was tragic."

Sai looked down at Rei before holding his hand over her and letting his hands glow blue with healing magic. Before he could set the magic to heal her, Charon grabbed his wrist and pulled it away.

"What are you doing?!" Charon snapped. "You can't  _heal_  her!"

"Why not?!"

"What if she comes back and she's on the murder spree again? Or she teleports and escapes to return to help Barthandelus again?"

"You didn't see the  _look_  in her eyes, Charon! Whatever you did with your fire - defeating her, purifying her, killing her, whatever -  _something_  brought her back! The  _real_  her! She's in there now! We can't just  _leave_  her if there's even the  _slightest_  chance we can get her back!"

"Sai-"

" _You_  took her from me, Charon!" Sai snapped. "The least you can do is help me get her back if you  _ever_ want my respect again!"

Charon flinched, and Shu took his hand. "Come on, Chare. We need a little recuperation anyway. We're tying up loose ends before we head back to Cocoon. How about you guys take on that Vercingetorix while we figure this out and regain our strength?"

* * *

"I don't like this," Charon said.

"Because you're afraid of her?" Shu asked.

"No!"

Shu stared at him.

"Okay maybe a little, but it's only because I'm worried she's gonna hurt you."

"You're worried about  _me_  getting caught up in  _my_  past. Being unable to move on from my sister and being even more heartbroken than before if she turns out to still be beyond my reach."

He sighed. "Pretty much."

"I'll be fine, Chare. And even if I'm not, I'll have you there for me."

"I want to stop the tragedy before I have to help you recover from it."

"That's  _my_  choice. Besides, sometimes tragedy helps us learn about ourselves. And I want my sister back, even if it's just for a few seconds."

"Even if it means you have to lose her again?"

They shrugged. "If I get just a few moments with the real her, that's a lot more than I would've had." Shu placed their hand on Charon's hand that was starting to shake. "Now don't apologize. I already know."

He sighed, trying to calm his nerves. "I still think this is a bad idea."

"I never said that I didn't  _think_  it  _was_. Sai's going to be just as, if not  _more_ , affected than me. I have all these memories with Rei, how she loved and protected me, how I loved and tried to protect her. But he missed his chance, Chare. It hurts to lose a sister who you've grown up with before, but it's worse to lose a loved one before you ever got the chance to say you love them."

Charon looked across the house in Oerba where Sai was sitting at the bunk beds with Rei. The two of them were sitting in the U-shaped table at the end of the house. The others were out finishing off that final Cie'th (Shu recommended Poison), and so they had the house to themselves.

"I hope this isn't a mistake."

"Me too, Chare. We're all hoping as hard as we can. Think of it this way. We get Rei back on our side and all of us can take on Barthandelus together. We'll kick his ass for what he's done to all of us, we'll save Cocoon, and then we'll all live together on a little farm and we'll name our children after Rei and Sai - and maybe Styx too if we have enough kids; yes, we  _need_  to make sure of that! - and then Sai and Rei will have kids named after us. I can just imagine a cute little Charon Jr! He'd probably be as adorable as you. And a little Shu! A little me would be  _so_  cute, don't you think?"

Charon chuckled. "Don't you think we should be a  _little_  more original?"

"But…but…a mini  _me!_ " Shu pleaded, looking as pitiful as possible.

"That's Rei and Sai's job, didn't you say? What about  _our_  kids? Don't  _I_  get a say in this naming process?"

Shu pouted. "We can be original once we make sure that our legacies get born and named." They instantly went back to grinning. "You can come up with an original name if you give me enough kids."

Charon leaned over and pulled them into a kiss. "We'll see. We can get started  _any_  time you want."

Shu turned red. "Right," They squeaked.

Charon chuckled. "But let's survive this first, eh?"

Shu nodded, afraid that if they spoke, nothing would could out but gibberish.

"So, you hungry?" Charon asked, heading calmly over to the kitchen and leaving Shu a blushing mess like always.

Weren't they just a perfect couple?


	41. Avatar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Tactical points take a while to replenish, admittedly. Rarely ever let myself get so low though…"
> 
> "Technical points."
> 
> "Tactical makes more sense."
> 
> "Weirdo."
> 
> Charon, the mature guy that he was, stuck his tongue out at her before raising his blade, causing it to shimmer in the sun. "Well, this weirdo is going to be your brother-in-law, and I'm going to be the only reason you win this fight."
> 
> She snorted. "As if! The last one to get the hit will be me. It's my Eidolon, dumbass."
> 
> "Or it could be Sai."
> 
> "Guys, can we please do the bantering thing after we beat it?" Sai requested.
> 
> "Did he just surreptitiously propose to me?" Shu whispered to Sai frantically.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so remember what I said about being efficient? Haha, it's been two and a half months.
> 
> This fight scene was so hard for me to write for some reason. I had been preparing for this for a long time and some of it kinda turned out okay, but in all honesty, it's not my best work. I apologize for the extremely long wait, but I'll have another chapter beside it to make up for the half-baked work that's held me back for literally months. I've been busy as hell and it's been giving me major writer's block.
> 
> Sorry for the delay again. Enjoy. :)

Sai was staring at Rei, lying unconscious in her bed. He had healed her wounds, and now she looked back to normal. He stared a lot. There didn't seem to be anything wrong. She didn't  _look_  like she was being mind-controlled. Then again, she was unconscious. Was he weird for staring at her while she was unconscious? Shouldn't Shu be here? Where  _was_  Shu? Oh, they were eating with Charon.

Sai twisted a scroll between his fingers. He had found it on Rei while he was healing her, but he wasn't sure whether or not he should read it. It was written in Pulsian script, so he might not have been able to read it anyway. He was debating whether or not to tell Shu and Charon about its existence.

Curiosity got the best of him. He had nothing better to do. He had a small moment where he thought about how curiosity was a human trait. L'Cie weren't human? Well, they sure acted like it.

He carefully opened the scroll. At first, the script started as a bunch of weird symbols that he couldn't read, but then the letters shifted to be Cocoon script, something he could easily read.

' _My sibling, Charon, and Sai,_  
Perhaps it is time that I tell you what I've wished to hide. It is time that I tell you the truth of our origins.  
Long ago, the great god called Bhunivelze slew his mother, Mwynn, for power over the mortal world, but he was not satisfied. Believing his mother had cursed all to die in his world, he began seeking for a way into the Unseen Realm to find and finish Mwynn off. He could not, however, reach the Unseen Realm without giving up control of the mortal world.  
To find the entrance to the land of the dead, he built the fal'Cie deity Pulse, tasked with finding the door to the unseen world. However, he then created Etro and realized he accidentally made her in the image of his mother and left her powerless in return. To replace Etro, Bhunivelze created the fal'Cie deity Lindzei, tasked with protecting the world and Bhunivelze himself.  
While Bhunivelze went into a deep crystal sleep to be woken when the door was found. Barthandelus has found this door, and unfortunately, the only way to open it is to sacrifice a great deal of lives all at once - the cataclysm only possible through the destruction of a prosperous Cocoon. To make the planet fall, Barthandelus wishes to summon Ragnarok, and you know the rest from there.  
However you must be informed of this:  
Out of depression from her loneliness, or perhaps a desire to gain her father's attention, she died, and humanity was born from her blood thanks to Lindzei. But Etro found her way to Valhalla, the middle realm between the unseen realm and the visible world, and found Mwynn who was almost overtaken by the chaos that festered as a result of Bhunivelze's attempt to reach the unseen realm. Before disappearing into the chaos, Mwynn tasked Etro with protecting the world balance, receiving the power of her predecessor to then rule over the land of the dead.  
Though Etro was powerless in life, she became far beyond her siblings in death, favoring humanity over all else. She gave humans their souls using the Chaos and helped allow them to return when they died. She made mistakes, but she was a wise woman, protecting the timeline and the world of the living from the Chaos.  
However, she also made guardians, servants - fal'Cie. Through the Chaos and the unique power she was given, she created four servants representing the cycle of life - while she herself was the counterbalance representing the process after death and to rebirth. We are those four fal'Cie.  
Me, I am the first and oldest. I represent life and creation, the beginning, the genesis where the future is infinite, and anything can be born.  
Shu, my dear, you are the next, representing growth and development, innocence lost to fate as you are molded into the person you shall be known as. I wished to preserve your youth, your bliss of facing a bright and exciting new world, but now that I am no longer there to hold you back, I suppose that you will be facing hardships. But you must be strong, my little Asu.  
Styx, Charon's younger sister, was next in the order. You all may not know her, but she was a child of decay, downfalls, insidious wearing down of life. Despite this dark origin, she was the warmest child I had ever met besides my own sibling. She was the youngest of us all, and I know she would've gone far had it not been for Barthandelus. I am sorry about what happened, but I suppose I have no right to speak of her, not after everything she has endured.  
Charon, you were last in the cycle, but you already know that, don't you? I must confess, I knew who you were the moment we met. I knew of your binding contract, though I don't claim to have understood your reason for accepting it. But I knew who you were, you were the person I saw before my eyes - in love with someone that brought you joy, not pain. I believed you would do the right thing, I believed that we would have to help you and that you would eventually trust us enough to do so. Now, I am alone, in a dark place, writing this to you, and I know you're afraid. You think I hate you, don't you? And I do, but mostly, I'm angry with what you were forced to become. I'm scared, I am. But I just want you to look after Shu, and Sai while he's around, too. You are the end, the closest step to death, the only one capable of creating Ragnarok properly - That's why Barthandelus wanted you over all of us, but if he got desperate, Shu or I could be used. The only caveat is that we would have no chance of survival. You can save us or destroy us. I hope you can make this choice.  
Sai, I'm sorry I dragged you into all of this. You were kind to me when I had nothing left, alone and afraid in an enemy's land. I owe you more than I can express. Thank you for giving me a chance. Please, for me, live your life without fear, regret, and without rage. I know I have only ever taken from you - if it weren't for me, perhaps you wouldn't be a l'Cie in the first place - and to ask such a thing is not my place, but I hope you can respect the wishes of the dead. I am selfish, yes, but I will be selfish when it comes to you and my family. I'm alone, I'm in the darkness, but I'm safe. Don't worry about me, I'm safe here, and I will be forever. Stay with Charon and Shu. If you do, I will always be by your side.  
And you l'Cie, bound by the chains of fate, with nothing but doom on the horizon, do not give in to the hatred put upon you. You are the ones Barthandelus chose, and you are the ones who can stop him. Remember, to flee or to submit will result in Barthandelus simply finding another way to enslave others after you. I do not want more to go through what we have, do you? Only you have survived the twilight, only you have the strength to make it to dawn. Think not of fate, of consequences. Think of what you know is right, what you must do to stop this destruction. Miracles do not happen if you merely sit back and wait for them. You must make miracles on your own, you must earn them, and I believe you are due one any moment. Don't waste it.

 _To all of you, goodbye.  
-Hotareichan_'

* * *

"This is the story of the gods," Shu said. "But…Rei never told me  _this_  part before. The part about us."

"She knew," Charon realized. "She  _knew_  from the very beginning. Everything. She had put the pieces together, but she had hoped that things would be different."

Sai took back the scroll. "She believed in us. Despite everything that happened, she still put her faith in us that we could fix this."

"A dark place…" Shu muttered. "Styx never answered me when I asked if Rei had made it to Valhalla. Barthandelus must not have let her, captured her soul to be used in this rebirth of sorts. Only he remade her to be to his liking."

"Her soul? I thought you guys didn't have those."

"Hm…perhaps it's best explained like this: there are many parts that make up a sentient being. There's the soul, the heart, the mind, and the body. The soul is the energy that allows us to exist. I guess I misspoke earlier when I said I didn't have a soul - I have a soul, or else I wouldn't exist here. The soul is the basis of a life form, the next part being the heart. You see, the heart is the personality and ability to expand into a unique person. While the soul is the energy that allows a heart to form, the heart is truly who someone is - our emotions and reactions to our experiences. We fal'Cie should lack hearts, logically, and most of us do. It's the four of us that are special who apparently  _do_  have hearts of sorts. Then, there's the mind. It's our conscious state that allows us to make our decisions that impact our lives. The mind and the heart are obviously two different things, that's how a regular fal'Cie can exist without a heart and still function logically - reacting to threats of danger and having something that it desires like victory. Then, there's the body - and yes, the body and the mind are two different things. The mind is in here." Shu pointed to their temple. "It's just your conscious state of thought. Your mind commands your body, your body is the physical manifestation of your soul, your heart, and your mind, all together as one. Then, things work backward. Your body experiences things in life, your mind reacts to them, your heart molds and changes all the time, and your soul - the deepest and most obscure part of you - will be changed in a base kind of way that can hardly be described with words. At least by me. Rei would probably be able to do it. She's always been good at things like that."

"Rei's back with us now, right?" Sai asked hopefully. "Whatever he's done, it can be reversed?"

Charon exchanged a glance with Shu. "We're…not sure, Sai. What's been done to her…we have no evidence that it's been  _un_ done with her defeat."

" _I_  have evidence. You didn't see the look in her eyes when she saw me. It was her, I swear it."

"Can we  _really_  take that risk? It took both me and Shu to defeat her and she's an adaptor - she's good at making sure she isn't tricked twice. I'm not sure if we can stop her a second time if you're wrong about this, Sai."

"We  _have_  to try," Shu insisted, taking his hand. "Can't we at least  _try_ , Chare?"

Sai saw Charon stare at Shu as his barriers were pierced one by one and he started to give in. His gaze softened, and his muscles started to relax, and Sai knew that he couldn't stand up to Shu anymore.

"Sai…?" a voice called.

He snapped to attention. "Rei!"

He rushed over to the bunks to find her sitting up and looking around frantically. When she saw him, she relaxed again. "What happened?"

He sat down on the bunk bed beside her. "Well…what do you remember?"

She sat up slowly, leaning against the pillow. "There was this numbness…a darkness I couldn't see through. It was evil and chaotic and suffocating. I tried to hide, I tried to pull into myself to put up a shield of sorts. I'm not sure what happened, but I knew that I went into a hibernation of sorts. It was dark, it was cold, but I survived. I think so, anyway."

"Do you remember Barthandelus bringing you back?"

She looked up in surprise. "He can do that?"

Sai shrugged. "We think so. How else would he get ahold of you when you died?"

Rei slumped again. "He's one of the strongest fal'Cie created, but his strength mostly comes from his sentience. It's being aware that he exists, understanding the concepts of life and death, knowing patience, and adapting to situations - all of this makes him superior to the other fal'Cie, but it doesn't make him like us. We were made by Etro, a goddess who came to understand and feel love and emotion. Through the chaos, she was able to make the four of us, though I'm not sure what she  _wanted_  with our creation."

He reached over and took her hand. "I think she wanted you to have the power of the gods but the hearts of humans. I think she wanted you to use your power to protect humanity."

Rei stared at their interlocked hands, resting her other hand on top of his. "Ever since my creation, I've always felt that there was something wrong with me. Being…self-aware…it hurts. I just wanted a simple existence, a path to follow in life, but instead, I'm left in the dark, unaware of what I'm supposed to be doing and why it hurts so much to feel these emotions. I never got an answer to why we were different, why we were like this. Until I died, anyway. Even now that Etro has given me  _some_  answers, I'm still as lost as ever."

He squeezed her hand tightly. "You're not alone in this. I'm here for you now, we're all gonna figure this out together."

She stared at him sadly. "But your brand…"

She moved her hand to sweep her fingers across his half brand. He looked down and saw her half was there too, still on her arm. Sai still didn't know how that worked, and when he'd asked her, she hadn't been given any clues about it in her afterlife journey either.

"Death couldn't separate us last time, I won't let it separate us again."

She smiled sadly. "I wanna believe that. You can't  _imagine_  how much I wanna believe that…" Her head fell, and he caught the shimmering of tears building up in her eyes. "It's  _my_  fault you were branded. I should've done more, I shouldn't have been afraid to act, I should've used more power…"

He pulled her into an embrace as she cried onto his shoulder. "This isn't your fault, Rei. You weren't fully recovered at the time-"

"I had recovered enough power to have done more than I did!"

"You can't change the past, there's no use dwelling on all the 'what-ifs.' You've done more than enough to protect me on this journey. I'm just ashamed that I wasn't able to return the favor."

She laughed through her sobs. "You saved my life, Sai. Without you I'd probably still be on Cocoon, being experimented on, tortured, and then executed by the government. I never would've found Shu, I never would've learned that there's more to this world than just my sibling. I never would've learned what it meant to love others - to love humans and love their diversity. I never would've learned why people were worth protecting even when they were misguided and hated your every being. Without you, I would've given up, Sai.  _I'm_  the one who owes you, for failing you and failing Shu and failing Charon and failing  _everyone_. I wasn't strong enough to protect you from Barthandelus, I wasn't strong enough to resist his influence. I couldn't save anyone. I'm worthless."

"You are  _not_  worthless. You're the strongest fal'Cie I know. I know you could take on Barthandelus easily if given the chance. Charon couldn't defeat you and he's not too shabby."

She smiled. "Charon can take me on alone, at least that's how it's supposed to work. We're supposed to be evenly matched. I suppose he just hasn't realized his full power yet."

"Or maybe he just needs to work on his hand-to-hand combat. Or…claw-to-talon combat?"

She laughed and pulled back. "Thank you, Sai. So, uh…what have I missed?"

* * *

"They look so cute together," Shu crooned.

"I'm still not sure about this, Shu," Charon said, staring at Sai and Rei sitting on the beach at the water's edge.

The two were talking lightly with smiles on their faces, a blanket around Rei's shoulders (since Sai said that victims of traumatic events are given blankets to help them cope and what was more traumatic than being killed and then being brought back with Barthandelus controlling you?) as Sai explained what happened while she was dead. She exclaimed a few times and asked questions, but Sai was quick to explain - so Charon assumed he was telling her about what Charon did. Rei hung onto every word Sai spoke and her questions looked thoughtful. She was a wise woman, almost too smart to believe in.

Still, Charon couldn't help but like her. Perhaps that was an effect of being the fal'Cie of creation. She, like Shu, had the ability to befriend nearly anyone she came into contact with without even realizing it. She said the right things without meaning to, she always asked permission for things even to her friends who she must've known would say yes anyway, and she tried to be a barrier to protect those she cared for.

Shu gasped loudly and punched Charon in the arm, which he winced at and started rubbing. "What?"

" _Kiss_  you fools! Just  _do_  it already!"

Charon rolled his eyes at Shu's fangirling (or fan…personing?), seeing what they were talking about. Rei had scooted closer to Sai, taken his hand, and was leaning against him as they watched the sun set beyond the sparkling crystal water.

"They've never kissed before," Shu explained. " _Do_  it, Sai! Be a  _man!_ "

Shu was purposefully being quiet with their shouted encouragement, seeing as the two of them were hiding behind one of Adam's (the tree) roots. Shu was cowering behind the tall root as they pumped a fist and hissed their words of cheer. The scene was admittedly adorable, but Charon didn't want to let his guard down when it came to Rei. If Sai's life was on the line, he would jump in to protect him. Like it or not, Charon had come to respect Sai. Sai had helped Shu when they were in their darkest hour, he had helped Shu when Charon couldn't. He was probably the only reason that Shu was still here, protecting them when they were too weak to fight monsters and too depressed to fight fate. And Sai hadn't made any real moves on Shu the entire time, so Charon had to thank him for that, too.

Shu's loud and drawn out gasp had Charon wanting to laugh. They were making tiny and quiet claps, but to make up for the lack of sound Shu could make, they made up for it in the number of claps. Shu had to be clapping at 500 claps per minute.

"Yes~!" Shu hissed, trying to be quiet. "Sister's found love! So sweet! Do you see it, Charon?  _Do you?!_ "

Charon smiled at Shu, trying to remain focused, but it was kinda hard when Shu was a blonde ball of joy. Charon could see the hearts in their eyes, and his own heart started to melt. Shu just wanted the best for Rei, the chance to be happy. After all, Shu had been through, things were finally starting to look up. Rei deserved the chance to have her happy ending too, and Shu wanted it more than anything now.

Charon's smile started to fade the moment Shu's did. In an instant, Shu flinched and froze, their smile drooping into a look of pure horror. Shu started to tremble, their eyes wide, and Charon moved to grab Shu's arm and pull them into a hug to try and get them under control. He finally looked to see what Shu was staring at, but even he couldn't have predicted it.

Sai had his sword sticking through Rei's torso, or rather, he had  _Rei's_  sword stabbed through her.

* * *

"Do you remember when we went shopping for new clothes that I could wear?" Rei asked.

"Yeah. I knew nothing about women's fashion and neither did you," Sai said. "We were shopping in the dark."

"But remember the time when I tried on shoes and tripped over my feet because the two shoes had been connected? What was the excuse you gave me? It's how the stores make sure the left and right shoes stay together with their pair. There were so many other shoes, especially ones that looked similar to that pair, that they needed a physical connection in order to keep track of each other."

"You asked if they had to stay that way, saying that it wasn't very practical if you were going to wear the shoes." He chuckled. "I told you that once we bought them, we were allowed to take the connector thing off. When we did, you took it and then used it to tie our wrists together, as a way to make sure  _we_  didn't get separated."

"You suggested the holding of hands instead."

"Then you said that your hand was a very important asset."

"And I gave it to you anyway because you were worth more than my hand." She took his hand now, scooting closer to lean against him. "I didn't hold you tight enough that day. I should've done more."

"Stop saying that. You can't do anything to change the past no matter how much you regret it."

"I just…I want you to know that I'm not gonna fail you again. I promise."

"You never failed me. You did everything you could in the past, and not it's up to you to choose your future."

"I've spent my entire life trying to protect the ones that I love. I'm tired of all this fighting," she admitted. "That life with you, not having to worry about survival or war, seeing all these new things to do and explore - I never felt happier right then and there. I want that back. I want that life with you and Shu and Charon. I wanna have our friends come and visit us from time to time, I want to be able to shop and work, I want to help Shu grow a garden and sit like this in front of the sunset every day. I want a life of peace."

He looked at her. "Where's all this coming from?"

She shrugged. "Death makes you start thinking about what you've always wanted, what you're never going to have. I want to do all that, I want to experience  _peace_  before I die. I was afraid I never would."

"We'll get there, I promise." He sighed. "But there's still a little more fighting to do until then."

"Fighting Barthandelus is all well and good. It's fighting  _fate_  that makes me worried." She looked up at his face. "I just want you safe."

He frowned sadly. "When you think that you're the one with the time limit, it hurts all the more to know that you're not the one who dies first."

"Sorry about that. I really thought I had him in that fight. I should've been more careful. I guess I was just too angry at him to think straight. If you're sure he's on our side again, and Shu says that he's making them happy, then…I guess I really  _have_  missed a lot."

"Shu and Charon have their demons to work out, but it's not entirely their fault."

"Are you sure you want to take the risk that my demons aren't still here? If what you told me was true, how there weren't any words that could reach me when I was under Barthandelus's control…"

He gripped her hand tighter. "If your demons are still here, I'll strike them down myself."

She looked up to him in surprise, and that was how he found himself giving his first kiss. And what he knew might be his last.

When Rei felt the sword enter her, she choked up and froze. When he opened his eyes, he saw the blank look in them, a light fading away.

"You're not her," he whispered. "I wish to all the gods that you are, but you're not. I'm sorry."

He twisted the blade in further and she choked up her deep purple blood.

"NO!" Shu shrieked, completely ignoring the hiding plan, and sprinting out onto the beach. "What are you  _doing?!_  No! Rei! REI!"

They pushed Sai away with more force than Sai thought they were capable of - then again Shu  _was_  a fal'Cie who probably weighed more than the rocks and stone that made up the entire village of Oerba. He nearly got whiplash from how hard he was shoved into the sand, feeling dizzy as he lost his grip on the sword.

"Rei…"

Sai simply laid in the sand, staring up at the fading light in the sky. He felt numb, paralyzed at what he'd done. So this is what Charon must've felt, this infinite void of regret. The only difference is that this wasn't a mistake, Sai plunged that blade through her of his own free will. And that meant that it hurt so much more to know what he'd done. But it wasn't her. He couldn't go on trying to convince himself that it was. He didn't even have the strength to tell Shu that he was sorry. He didn't have the right to.

He hated himself for having to be the one to break Shu's heart again, but it was best that Shu kept their relationship with Charon rather than their relationship with Sai. Charon had been suspicious of Rei ever since she'd woken up, he'd held onto her every word.

' _She said that she wasn't strong enough to resist Barthandelus's influence. But before that, she had been baffled that Barthandelus could bring her back in the first place. You hadn't mentioned she had been mind-controlled at the time, and there's no way she could've heard our previous conversation._ '

Maybe she just learned it in her death. Maybe all this information had come to her when she died just like with Styx. Hell, maybe she  _got_  all this information from Styx.

It was false hope and he knew it. He didn't want to believe it, he didn't want to put the pieces together. He just wanted her back.

But he didn't want a fake back. When he looked into her eyes before she had passed out, after the battle - right then, it  _had_  been her. But when she'd woken back up, it was gone. The real her was in there somewhere, but she couldn't be free from Barthandelus. She could only ever be free through death.

"Rei, please don't leave me again…!" Shu sobbed.

"It's okay…little one," she said. "He…don't be angry at…it's not…me…" She grabbed their wrist as their hand started to glow with healing magic. "Don't…she'll…"

"She…?"

Rei pulled Shu down to her and brushed their curly hair off their face. "I'm with you, my gem."

Sai closed his eyes. He didn't want to hear this, but he couldn't help it. He felt like he was being eaten away from the inside out. There was no hope for them, was there?

He thought about the future Rei had started to describe, all of them living together, having the other l'Cie just a short trip away, living together happily. He imagined Shu making their own garden (and by garden he meant forest) near their house; he imagined Charon learning to cook from Rei and Rei learning to use fancy technology from Charon; he imagined him and Charon teaching Rei and Shu about humans and human customs once they weren't being hunted down. He imagined Shu and Charon getting into playful arguments that ended in Charon getting tangled up in vines with an unamused face. He imagined teaching Rei to read Cocoon script, lying together on a couch with Charon teaching Shu how to play video games on the TV. He imagined going to visit Snow and Serah - perhaps Lightning too since she'd come around to their getting married - and seeing their child/children. He imagined Hope becoming an academic scholar; Vanille and Fang becoming hunters, maybe making a shop since there  _was_  a business out there for monster materials and hunting equipment; Sazh becoming a pilot again with his son at his side, their little chocobo growing up to be a loyal friend even once she got bigger.

" ** _I want that future too,_** " he thought to himself. " ** _But we can never have that, can we?_** "

He suddenly wanted to cry at the hopelessness of their situation, but then his arm started to burn. His entire left forearm started to cramp as the ground shook. He pulled himself to his feet just as a large brand formed on the crystal beach, summoning a large shockwave of energy that pulsed outwards.

Shu shrieked and stumbled out of it before the large symbol started to morph like it was alive, climbing onto Sai and crawling up his body. It ended up creating an aura of sorts around him, a glowing blue silhouette of Sai that raised him up at least three meters into the air because it was bigger than him. He could see through the silhouette and saw that the same thing had happened to Rei, only hers was a deep purple.

" _What_ is _this thing?!_ " he shouted, his voice muffled as though he were underwater.

" _Avatar_ ," Rei said, her voice coming through the giant silhouette like it was a speaker directly contacting him. " _It takes on the form of its user and works to grant their most horrific wish - their deepest desire that would've been better off left alone. It makes them realize how much they shouldn't or should want something, forces them to reevaluate their values. Or it breaks their mind and body trying to do so._ "

Sai's Avatar swung out its arms, large swords sprouting out from the palms of his hands. The Avatar grabbed the hilts, the swords now disconnected from the Avatar's hands, and spun them in preparation. Then, surprisingly agile for its large form, it sprinted towards Rei's Avatar and moved in to swing. She raised her hands, her Avatar following her motions, to block the swords, and though she managed to stop them, sparks flew, and Sai saw as her Avatar's hands started to crack like glass from the impact. Rei slid across the crystal and - having already been lying down when the Avatar had formed around her - and rolled across the beach to diminish the force from the attack, before using the spin to get to her feet. She held her hands out and concentrated, the fractures in her hands beginning to mend. Sai realized that the Avatar was also healing  _her_ , mending the wound from when he had stabbed her previously.

Unlike Rei, Sai's Avatar moved without his consent and charged in again for the attack. Rei held up her hands defensively as her two swords formed in her Avatar's hands - and her regular two blades formed within Rei's hands herself within the Avatar (the one that Sai had used to stab her had been lying in the sand when the Avatar had formed around Rei). She blocked the charge, but she was pushed back further, sending crystal sand and water flying from the impact. She managed to stay on her feet, sliding across the ground, before coming to a stop and gripping her swords tightly. Rei could've easily moved in to retaliate, but she simply regained her balance and stood her Avatar at attention again in a defensive stance.

"No…no stop it!" Sai shouted.

His Avatar charged in to strike, and this time Rei intercepted his blades only to have them start to crack, just like her hands had before, from the impact of the Avatar's swing. She twisted her weapons out of the clash and swiftly spun her body around to kick him in the gut, sending him back again and holding up her weapons to send energy through them in order to repair them. Sai could see that Rei was running low on energy, already weakened from her fight with Shu and Charon, further weakened from Sai's stab wound, and running low on magic that could heal her injuries even with the Avatar helping her. She was breathing hard, and clearly controlling the Avatar was taking its toll.

"No…no, I…I don't want you to kill her," Sai realized. "NO!"

It hadn't been easy for him to muster the strength to accept Rei was dead, to resist the urge to take the risk that she could be possessed again and to just be happy she was with him again. He wanted to allow her to look after Shu, make amends with Charon, to smile and laugh and live the life that Sai had been hoping she could have. Maybe live a life with  _him_. He had wanted that so bad, and so it was painful to remember what Barthandelus had done to her, that he had seen her die and fade away, that she could turn against them at any moment and they'd be more vulnerable than ever.

But seeing her now, she wasn't trying to win. She wasn't the thing that Barthandelus had made her into, she wasn't going to turn against them. In that moment, Sai knew it was her and her alone. It hadn't been before, make no mistake, but something in the Avatar had brought the real her out. The Avatar wanted to make Sai realize that if he killed the potential threat, if he wanted to stop Barthandelus from taking over Rei again, then he'd have to say goodbye to  _his_  Rei, the  _real_  Rei, once more. He thought he'd been ready to do it, but he wasn't. He wasn't at all.

"STOP IT!"

The next thing he knew, he was out in the open air again, no longer within the confines of the Avatar. He was thrown to the crystal sand, and when he regained his bearings, he looked up just in time to see his swords dropped in front of him. His Avatar was in front of him, standing ankle-deep in the waters of Oerba. The two large swords retracted back into its hands, and instead, it held out its palms, the sparkling water starting to rise in snakes of liquid.

" _You must fight to prove your worth,_ " Rei's voice spoke from inside the Avatar, projected like she was using a megaphone. " _Avatar is your Eidolon, and now it has come to test your resolve._ "

There was whispering from his Avatar that he couldn't understand, similar to how the Menhirrim had spoken.

" _What do you mean?_ " Rei asked.

"What'd he say?!" Sai called.

Rei ignored him as though she couldn't hear, staring with a baffled and confused look on her face. " _What do_ I _have to prove?_ " The Avatar whispered to her again. " _I see. My humanity may serve me well in that case._ "

"Rei!" Sai called.

She finally looked down to him and then jumped free of her Avatar, her blades coming with her as the larger ones with her Avatar disappeared when she emerged. "We have a plan."

"We?"

"The Avatars have come to help us -  _both_  of us. If we can win their power, I might be able to keep control of myself with their help, and…and maybe we can have that future after all."

"Rei! Sai!"

It was then that Sai remembered Shu and Charon were here. The two came running up, and Sai noticed how Charon was instinctively on edge, defending Shu without even realizing it.

"Are you hurt?" Charon asked.

Sai shook his head. "I don't  _think_  so-"

He was interrupted by a harsh, stinging slap to his right cheek, and a moment later, he learned that Shu had been the one to slap him, barely holding back their fal'Cie strength so that they didn't break his skull in two with the hit. "What in the gods' names were you  _thinking_ , you-" Shu said the fal'Cie version of 'son of a bitch' and Sai felt that he was going to learn the fal'Cie language at this rate. "I'll kill you! I swear, I'll-"

"Shu." Rei grabbed their hand as they were about to jump Sai, and she instantly had a calming effect. "It's okay, little gem. I promise, it's okay. He was trying to protect you and Charon and all the other l'Cie. You had no reason to trust me - not  _me_ , really, but that woman that Barthandelus had planted within me, who he  _made_  me into. I don't have a lot of time to explain, but Barthandelus and the…other me, I guess you could say, had a plan to allow me to infiltrate your ranks, make you believe that you had me back, and I could sabotage your group from the inside."

"But…not  _now_ , right? You've…you're  _you_  right now…"

"For now, dear Shu, but it can't last. The Eidolon Avatar may yet be able to aid me in keeping my wits, but otherwise, only when my body is on the verge of perishing can I regain control. In recovering my body, you recovered… _her_."

Shu instantly moved to squeeze Rei in a tight hug. "I'm sorry I can't…I'm sorry I didn't  _see_ …I'm never letting you go again, I don't care how possessed or messed up you are. I'll get you back, no matter what."

Rei pulled back and swept Shu's curly bangs out of their face. "I love you, my sibling, and I would never wish us to be apart, but should I do you harm, you  _must_  make this choice. You must promise you shall never value my life over so many others. If you need me to tell you, then I shall: I want you to kill me if it means you can save everyone else. If I pose a threat you can't diminish, you  _have_  to make this choice."

Shu shook their head. "No… _never!_  I'd never…I  _can't_ …you… _you_  can't make me do that! Ever! No!"

Rei pulled them into another embrace as Shu cried onto her shoulder, her lips whispering her words right up against their ear. "You're the only one that I know will never do this, so I have to be the one to ask you this personally. Sai and Charon will be permanently scarred, but they'll know what needs to be done. Same with the l'Cie - they'll forever be hurt, they'll blame themselves forever and none of them will quietly accept this choice, but they'll make it all the same. You are the only one that might risk all of our friends, all of Cocoon, for my sake, and I can't let that happen. Please, Shu. I'm not saying that it's inevitable, but I'm saying this in case I don't get another chance. I need you to be prepared to do this."

Shu sobbed into Rei's hair, and she made a mental note to clean it. She was reminded of the days when she would wash Shu's hair in the springs when they were little, and then Shu would do their best to clean hers. She would have to go back and untangle it later, but it was worth it to see the smile on their young face. She needed to see that smile again, but she was afraid she never would at this rate.

"Okay…" Shu finally whispered, their voice shaky and broken. "I'll promise you…but it w-won't…I won't let it come to that…"

"Don't you dare go being all heroic and go with me. There are still people here relying on you. You have to save Charon and Sai; Lightning and Fang, Snow, Sazh, Vanille, and Hope. They all have people they love that are waiting for them to come home, they all have bright futures that you need to see them to."

"But what about  _your_ future?! What about  _mine?!_ "

The water beneath them began to stir and swirl around them. "Uh, guys?!" Sai called. "What's happening?"

"The Avatars are getting impatient," Charon announced. "We have to fight them now, or they'll take away Rei's control again."

"We can argue about this later," Rei declared. "You can chew me out once I've been saved."

Shu sniffled and nodded. "Let's take it down."

"You fal'Cie are allowed to help?" Sai asked.

"In this case, yes. The Avatars adapt to the ones who summoned them. The reason they're so big is that they have a fal'Cie at the reins this time - your brand was shared with Rei, your  _power_  shared with her. Therefore, the Avatars are equipped to fight fal'Cie."

"We're all recovering, but together we might just be able to do it," Charon agreed.

"Charon being positive," Shu sighed. "What has the world truly come to?"

Charon snorted but drew his Wakizashi all the same. "Shall we?"

Rei held her hands out with her swords, as they glowed, flashed, and four more blades appeared on either side behind her, hovering in the shape of wings - four silver, four gold. "This is all I can manage for now."

"I thought it healed you to your full strength. Eidolons keep their summoners alive, Avatar is no exception."

She frowned, miffed at been accused of lying or being mistaken. "Cooldown after transformations plus our battle won't allow us our full strength for a while now. Healing health and healing special abilities are very different."

"Tactical points take a while to replenish, admittedly. Rarely ever let myself get so low though…"

"Technical points."

"Tactical makes more sense."

"Weirdo."

Charon, the mature guy that he was, stuck his tongue out at her before raising his blade, causing it to shimmer in the sun. "Well,  _this_  weirdo is going to be your brother-in-law,  _and_  I'm going to be the only reason you win this fight."

She snorted. "As  _if!_  The last one to get the hit will be  _me_. It's  _my_  Eidolon, dumbass."

"Or it could be Sai."

"Guys, can we  _please_  do the bantering thing after we beat it?" Sai requested.

"Did he just surreptitiously propose to me?" Shu whispered to Sai frantically.

"I go left, you go right?" Rei requested.

" _I_  go left,  _you_  go right," Charon corrected. "I'm left-handed."

"You  _are?!_ " Shu exclaimed.

"Partially ambidextrous," Rei corrected. "You've clearly been experimenting with your right hand over the past few centuries, though you often favor your left in emergencies."

"Oh for heaven's sake!" Sai shouted. "Look out!"

A tidal wave of water came smashing down upon them as Sai's Avatar stepped forward and attacked, while all of them scattered. Rei's Avatar reared her leg back like she was about to kick a soccer ball before smashing her foot down into the crystal sea, kicking up an explosion of water spells at them. Rei and Charon jumped to either side, raising their weapons in sync and then shooting forward. It was almost scary how well they were working together in that moment. They each went for one arm on Rei's Avatar, slashing with precision teamwork before retreating to either side of their larger opponent. Charon went high the next time and Rei went low between the legs. She slashed at its ankles by spreading her blade wings and diving right between the feet, while Charon straight up decapitated it with a deadly swing of his Wakizashi. Of course, since the Avatar was just made of energy, it easily regrew its head at the cost of a little magic energy and time being used up. The Avatar was knocked off balance for a moment thanks to Rei, but its feet repaired itself a moment later as well.

"I don't think it's working!" Shu announced.

"Stop bitching, start killing!" Sai snapped.

Shu squeaked and rolled out of the way before they could get stomped on by Sai's Avatar, ending up on their hands and knees in the shallow water and spitting up a mouthful of sparkly water. "Blech, crystal dust ocean!"

Sai jumped up in the air with his blades raised, making it to the chest of his Avatar and hitting it as hard as possible. He had infused a Thundara spell into each of his swords, revealed as a powerful Sparkstrike hit that actually managed to knock the Avatar off balance and made it take a few steps back.

"Oh, you ruined my hair, you big jerk!" Shu snapped. "That's IT! You are dead meat! Or…dead…glowy magic stuff!"

Shu raised their large blade again and stood, charging in to slash at Sai's Avatar's leg and cutting clean through the legs. Even though the Avatars healed themselves, Shu kept on swinging, slicing clean through with every attack and forcing the Avatar to stumble back step by step.

Rei ran up the arm of her Avatar and ran her blade through its arm, slicing up and through it before jumping off its shoulder as Charon came in for a swing at the abdomen. As Rei was aiming for the ground, however, she felt the large hand of her Avatar slap her way before it then reached out to grab Charon, squishing him and his sword in its fist as the other injured arm regenerated. Rei was thrown into the crystal sand beach while Charon was squeezed tightly by her Avatar, tight enough to cause him to cry out. Luckily his Wakizashi had turned to be parallel with his body so it didn't cut into him, but that didn't make having a sword squished up against you while you were being crushed to death any more fun.

"Chare!"

Shu turned their focus away from Sai's Avatar and jumped up to slice through the wrist of Rei's Avatar. Charon fell to the shores of Oerba, but the Avatar's hand remained tightly around him despite being separated from the main body. Shu landed on the ground again and ran over while Rei got up and jumped into the fray again to cover them, diving straight for the chest.

"Charon!"

Shu sliced through the giant glowing purple hand to free Charon from it, and he nodded, waving that he was fine. "Just need a moment…to catch my breath."

Shu looked up as Sai and Rei fought their respective Avatar's - Rei flying around hers and slicing where she could, while Sai ran across the arms and torso, using his blades to gain leverage sometimes and prevent himself from falling off.

"How can we stop them without our transforming?" Shu wondered.

"We need to get those two to combat what brought the Avatars in the first place," Charon said. "The Eidolons are brought to convince their wielders that life is still worth fighting for or end it for them."

"So we get them together with the power of love!"

"Or we find a way to put their minds at ease about Barthandelus. He's the main problem that's caused so many issues between them, the one who's torn them apart because of his influence and madness taking her away."

"Then…I know! Rei! Rei! I have a plan!"

Rei looked down to Shu, quickly jumping out of the way of a swing from her Avatar. She hopped down to them, rolling to her feet in front of Shu. "What is it?"

"Get over to Sai, now! You two have to work together!"

Rei didn't ask questions. She sprinted away to Sai, still fighting his Avatar in a deadly game of cat and mouse. She joined him, running up the shoulder of the Avatar and jumping over a giant hand that tried to slap her away.

"What now?!" Rei shouted.

"Both of you! Think of every reason Barthandelus has wronged you!" Shu called. "Every reason you hate him! Everything that he's ever done to make our lives miserable! Focus! And put all of that hatred into Rei's Avatar! All of it! Give it form! Make it real! Let the Avatar represent it and you!"

"What?!" Sai called, confused.

"You have to make your feelings known! All of that anger, all of your fears, you have to resist them! Give them form so that you can fight back! That's what an Eidolon does! It makes you choose between the life you have facing a Focus and the death you crave, the desire to give in and surrender! Are you willing to fight your fears, your pain, the threat that things could go wrong at any second?! Are you prepared to do whatever it takes?! Put all that stands between you and a happy ending into that Avatar and  _beat the crap out of it!_ "

Shu was taken by surprise as Charon suddenly pulled them into a tight hug. "Shu, you're a  _genius!_ "

Shu tried to play it cool despite the tingling of their skin from Charon's touch. "Obviously, duh, who do you think you're talking to?"

Charon gave a fake scowl - Shu knew it was fake since his real scowl was finally gone from his perfect face. "Don't get cute. Not the time to be distracting me."

"It's  _always_  a good time to be distracting you."

"That future he took," Rei said. "He's taken from all of us. That's right. That's what they do. They let you face your greatest enemies." She held out her hands towards her Avatar and closed her eyes. "Become all that I fear, become all that I abhor. Show me Barthandelus!"

Her Avatar began to glow and shifted, transforming, switching to a transparent/white aura. Charon closed his eyes and closed his hand into a fist before throwing it forward and adding atop his own pain. It wasn't hard to summon 600 years' worth of pain atop his recent despair. Now, he poured everything he had into the Avatar so that he could get his revenge. The Avatar reshaped itself to reveal Barthandelus in his full fal'Cie form.

"Now, Sai, it's up to you to fight him," Rei said. "You have to connect with your Avatar and  _use_  it."

"How do I do  _that?_ " he asked.

"You remember everything that's hurt you and you  _use_  it. The Avatar will be your blade only if you let it - give it a purpose strong enough to tame it. Let it become your blade. And make him  _pay_."

Sai nodded. "Okay…I…I guess."

He closed his eyes and concentrated. The Avatar already had its orders: to test Sai's resilience and make him reconsider his hopeless situation. It reflected him and his fears and pain, attacking him just like everything that had hurt him recently. He didn't need to fight it physically, he realized. He had to accept it and use it.

"All right, here we go!"

His Avatar pulled him and Rei back in, reaching down to grab and absorb Charon and Shu.

"Let's do this!"

Sai flung his hands out and his Avatar did the same, his blades glowing and flashing before another four blades were revealed, hovering behind the Avatar's back and floating in preparation for battle. Sai brought his hands together as the Avatar released the two swords in either of its hands to join the floating ones and instead formed an even larger greatsword, held between its two fists. With a mental command, the greatsword burst into Zanmato flames.

" _The bond of your family shall guide you, but only if your will is strong enough,_ " the Avatar said.

" ** _Why would it not be?_** " Sai wondered.

" _You are merely human. Can you truly bear the weight of three fal'Cie? You are a spec of existence in comparison to that of your allies here today; you will only matter to them for so long - you can only shield them from so many horrors. The burdens of the gods are placed upon the fal'Cie and, the burdens of the fal'Cie placed upon men. So often does your kind break upon the strain of a single Focus, but now you shall bear the burden of four._ "

"Four?" Sai asked aloud.

" _We have to work together,_ " Charon announced, his voice distorted from being in the Avatar.

" _Whoo-hoo! The big sword is mine!_ " Shu cheered.

Rei flicked her hands as her ten blades spun around the Avatar. " _Charon's right. We have to make sure our attacks are synchronized and don't get in the way of each other._ "

" _Speak for yourself. All Chare's got are the flames._ "

" _I'm giving you the ability to warp and my Zanmato flames will do wound damage that is unhealable,_ " Charon argued. " _I am_ very _important here._ "

" _No arguing, you two,_ " Sai warned. " _Working together? Ring a bell?_ "

" _Oh, we're_ fiiiiine _, Saitama,_ " Shu said. " _We got this_."

" _Each of us will have to work with Charon when we need to use the Avatar's warping ability,_ " Rei said. " _I will work my blades as auxiliary weapons. Shu and Sai, you provide the main force with Charon's power aiding you. Sai, you have control of the main body. Give us the commands when you need us. Otherwise, the rest of us will attempt to follow your lead to the best of our ability._ "

Sai began to understand what Avatar had meant when it had said that he was bearing the weight of all of them together. He had the power to keep them together, but they were dangerous and powerful forces that may be beyond his ability to control even if they only wanted to help. But he thought about all of the things that Barthandelus had done to them. He had started all of this. He planned the destruction of Cocoon and threw away so many lives like Lightning and the others. He had begun the Purge and so many innocent people had been killed for no real reason at all. He had torn apart Rei and Shu, he had torn apart  _Charon_ and Shu, and he had tried taking away everything that Rei had - her family, her free will, and her future. Now, he wanted to finish off the rest of Cocoon in its entirety.

" _Will you bear the burden of your entire world?_ " Avatar asked.

" _We'll stop you, Barthandelus_ ," Sai declared. " _Everyone, get ready!_ "

Sai tested his control over the Avatar, realizing it took a little more than a simple mental command to control the titan. He had to concentrate extremely hard, but he could do it. He focused as hard as he could, putting himself in the position of his Avatar. He readjusted his stance as a test, swinging Shu's large greatsword, before seeing the Barthandelus Avatar shudder and summon its four heads. Though it was simply an illusion, Sai felt his rage growing.

" _Let's go!_ " He raised his greatsword high. " _Warp!_ "

He threw the large weapon forward, and the moment it contacted the Barthandelus Avatar, Sai found himself teleported so that his hands were gripping the weapon once more. The entire weight of his Avatar was put into the attack, sending water flying and shaking the earth. Charon's flames flared and burned along the wound while Rei threw her arms forward as her ten blades scattered and attacked rapidly from all sides.

" _Ha, ha! That was brilliant!_ " Shu exclaimed. " _We're a great team!_ "

" _Don't let your guard down!_ " Rei warned.

" _Backstep! Destrudo!_ " Charon shouted.

Sai pulled at the Avatar as hard as he could, making it step back, but the controls were still awkward and slow.

" _Shu defense!_ " Rei shouted.

" _Right!_ " they announced, miming holding the greatsword within their hands and then thrusting their hands outwards.

The greatsword split up into multiple parts before rearranging themselves into a shield, and Sai felt his Avatar's arms pulled together defensively, his hands in fists, his forearms perpendicular together. His feet were spread in a steady stance and the greatshield formed connected to his arms so that he could brace himself, Rei's swords adding on and clicking into place to fortify the shield. Sai closed his eyes and held himself as steadily as possible as his shield was assaulted with the multiple explosions from the Destrudo attack.

" _Frontal assault! Attack!_ "

They each nodded and jumped into action, the greatshield reassembling into the greatsword and Rei's blades splitting off. Sai had already kicked Barthandelus's ass before; now he summoned the energy and rage to do so again. But this time, he had the power of three fal'Cie behind him.

He raised the large weapon in his hands and took all of their pain upon his shoulders. " _Barthandelus, you shall pay!_ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minus this footnote, 9,999 words baby :P


	42. To a World that Abhors You and I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You're dead!"
> 
> "You first!" Lightning snapped.
> 
> .
> 
> "Just remember, don't drop the gizmo."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second part of a double update as an apology for not updating. I've been uber busy, man, and I promise that I'm working on these stories in the background. But hey, we're finally moving on with the story! Yay!
> 
> Enjoy! :)

When the l'Cie walked into the Oerba house, they were slightly surprised to find three fal'Cie playing a card game together.

"That's not how you play the game," Charon protested.

"It's how  _I_  play the game," Rei insisted.

"It's cheating."

"It's  _improvising_."

Charon snorted. "That's like saying creating l'Cie is  _improvising_  when it comes to our mission as fal'Cie. It's cheating, plain and simple."

"It's using our abilities to their full extent. Hey, it's not like the gods gave us rules."

"And it's also not like many fal'Cie are very good at this whole l'Cie thing. I mean look at Anima - she kinda just grabbed the nearest people and was like 'Just do this incredibly big and near-impossible task within a couple weeks? Got it? Thanks dog.'"

"I feel she was a little less obvious in her wording."

"Then we'll add on, 'Also I won't tell you how or what I want you to do, go ahead and do it.'"

"Why  _do_  Focuses only come with hazy visions? I mean, if you  _really_  want something done, at least tell what you want in clear terms."

"Fal'Cie don't often understand things that are too humanly complicated. All of those Cie'th stones were pretty simple missions - go and kill this thingy and the biggest challenge is  _finding_  the creature. At least 80% of failed Cie'th missions were failed because someone was unable to locate their target."

"It's a sad truth."

"I still don't  _understaaaaand~!_ " Shu whined. "Why are there kings and queens and jacks?! And  _what_  is this stupid joker card?! It mocks me, just  _look_  at it!"

Charon patted them on the shoulder. "We can burn the joker with a Fire spell if it's upset you that much."

Rei plucked the card from Shu's fingers. "I think the joker card deserves a timeout. Beyond that, why  _are_ there jacks and kings and queens?"

"Humans wanted the kings and queens because they're cool, but not sure about the jack," Charon admitted. "Guess they found thirteen cards was the ideal number."

"Jacks are basically the number 11, queens are 12s, and kings are 13s," Sai said, coming over with a tray in his hands. He had a number of bowls of stew on the tray, fresh from the kitchen, and began to set them in front of each fal'Cie. "The jack was once called the 'knave,' meaning a male servant of royalty, but since the king and the knave could easily be confused back in ancient times or something when language was still being modified, jack became the primary title of the card."

"Well why couldn't they just make the actual  _numbers_  11, 12, and 13?" Shu whined. "Humans, man! They make no sense!"

"Says the one who dotes over their hair like it's the key to immortality," Charon muttered.

"Hey! It probably  _is!_ "

"I don't know," Sai said. "It might be, if cut off and cooked in a certain way like seaweed."

Shu gasped. "How dare you?! Rei, I no longer approve of him!"

"Aw, but without him you won't get your mini-Shu," Charon pointed out, dipping his spoon into the stew for a bite.

Shu blinked for a moment before the words processed and they sat back in their seat. "Well, that's true…"

"I doubt you can really predict what our children will look like," Rei said.

"A-Are we even sure that's…? You know what, nevermind." Sai shook his head. "Nope. Not gonna ask, not gonna think about it."

"Coward," Shu muttered.

"He's being  _practical_ , unlike  _some_  Flowers," Rei teased.

"Hey! We're  _very_  safe."

"You  _didn't_  have to tell her that," Charon grumbled.

Rei frowned. "How long did you two know each other before this happened?"

"A few weeks, if I remember correctly," Sai said.

"I hate him," Shu declared. "I've been  _betrayed!_  I try to be all sympathetic in a moment of weakness and you've  _used_  my kindness against me~! Avenge me, Charon,  _avenge me!_ "

"You know, if you ordered me to, I would," Charon said.

"That is…very true."

"Three weeks?" Rei repeated.

" _Four_  weeks," Charon corrected. "Two days, seventeen hours, 23 minutes. I think it was around 48 seconds."

"You  _would_  be looking at the clock at the time," Shu grumbled.

"You said it was a  _couple_  weeks," Sai insisted.

"Fang was there," Shu remembered. "And she only came out of crystal 13 days before the Purge."

"Remember how I said that my room was a teleporter?" Charon asked. "Pocket dimension that I could control."

"Time manipulation?" Rei asked.

"Barthandelus taught it to me. One-time deal, not for recreational use. Took me about 385 years, give or take, to perfect it."

"That is  _awesome_ ," Sai muttered.

"Uh,  _hello?!_ " Shu interjected. "How dare you ignore the innocent victim in this situation?!"

Snow was the first to be brave enough to clear his throat. "Uh, guys?"

The four of them all suddenly turned and noticed that Lightning and Snow were standing in the doorway with Fang and Sazh behind them, Hope and Vanille chatting outside on the stairs while they were waiting.

"We will talk about this later, Shu," Rei said firmly.

"Come on, everything worked out in the end!" Shu protested.

"And if it  _hadn't?_  After all my teaching of stranger danger."

"Well at least they're acting like siblings again," Charon muttered.

"Do the rest of you want some dinner?" Sai offered. "I just made a large batch of stew in preparation for your return. Don't worry, we washed the pot. Oh, and before I forget, I got my Eidolon."

* * *

"Yeah, and so we beat it up, it went all  _whooshy whoosh_ , then both Avatars dissolved," Shu said passively, waving their spoon before using it to take another bite of their stew.

The entire gang was huddled around the small table, using a couple boxes as seats. Shu had just finished telling the story of what happened - albeit in a very oversimplified way.

"That's one way to put it," Rei smiled.

"Oversimplifying it, but true," Charon admitted. "I guess we could recount every gripping detail, but it was mostly mental determination. You know, the classic 'beat your inner demons down' stuff."

"So you've got control of yourself again?" Hope asked.

"As far as I can discern. I make few promises because I know I won't be able to control my future. Barthandelus's plan - or rather  _my_  plan that I made for him - was for me to lose that fight in one way or another and for you all to take me in, since it was obvious you would. Barthandelus doesn't understand the heart, but  _I_  do - even when I was possessed - and I knew your hope wouldn't allow you to abandon me. So, I was to give you hope while also infiltrating your group, and then take it away when you were lured to Orphan. One of you would give in to despair and become Ragnarok or that was the plan, anyway. Not sure what the plan is now, but Barthandelus intends to lure you all back to Cocoon and drive you to your breaking point."

"So the plan is to… _not_  go back there, right?" Vanille summarized.

"We can't just ignore the fact that he's basically threatening to destroy Cocoon even without our input," Lightning reminded them.

"So our options are to watch it get destroyed or to go there and risk destroying it ourselves," Sazh sighed. "Well, that's a dilemma if there ever was one."

"This entire  _thing_  has been a big dilemma about whether we give up or we take action," Sai said. "So far, I feel it hasn't gotten us very far. But we're not as ignorant about the situation as we were before. I suppose, in a way, we've managed to evolve."

"Older but not really wiser," Charon concluded.

"We can't just sit here and let Barthandelus do as he pleases," Fang stated firmly. "If nothing else, I say we go after  _him_. If we take Barthandelus out, there'll be no more need to mess around with Orphan and the Cavalry."

"But what about the political aspect?" Rei pointed out. "Humans are skeptical things - it took a lot for you all to see through the government's lies and accept who you were, for better or worse. Hell, it took the  _Eidolons_ to get you where you are today and keep you from giving in to your fate."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Snow waved off passively.

"Maybe if we get rid of Barthandelus we can free Cid from his control," Sai suggested. "Or we can get to Cid ourselves and save him with the Avatars. Then, we'd have the entire government on our side since Cid is the new Primarch. You think that's possible?"

"Avatar can protect allies of the user, it's true, but I'm unsure about Cid. It's worth a shot."

"It still wouldn't be a fast process to regain people's trust and convince them that Pulse isn't everything they said it was," Charon pointed out. "It's still dangerous down here, but that's because the wildlife here rule more than the people. To say this place is safer than the government has preached wouldn't really be the truth. Getting the domesticated people of Cocoon used to the idea that Pulse isn't some evil land will be near impossible without something big and flashy enough for their close-minded, brainwashed selves to comprehend. The people of Cocoon can be as hard-headed as Snow."

"Yeah, I mean look at Hope," Vanille said with a smile. "He kept on shouting about how we were doomed and all of his Pulse hatred when we first met."

Hope chuckled lightly and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, well…sorry about that."

"You were all going through a lot back then," Charon said. "We  _all_  were. What matters is where we are now."

"So now that we're here, have we come up with the plan?" Lightning asked.

Everyone looked around at the rest of the group, looking for confirmation.

"We go back to Cocoon," Fang announced, saying what they were all thinking but didn't want to admit.

"We don't have a lot of other options," Charon agreed reluctantly.

Rei stared down at her empty bowl in front of her. "I should stay here. I may yet cause you issues should I accompany you all. Even with Avatar, Barthandelus rebuilt everything about me. My body, my mind, and he harnessed both my heart and soul for some time there. Even if the latter two are protected by the Avatar, the former two may not be."

"We can't just  _leave_  you," Shu protested. "We went through  _all_  of this trouble to get you back, and I'm  _not_ letting you out of my sight again. If  _you_  stay,  _I_  stay."

"That means I stay too," Charon said.

Rei shook her head. "You two have to look after the l'Cie. Cocoon can't be allowed to fall."

"Then  _I'll_  stay," Sai spoke up. "You can't be left alone, Rei. What if you suddenly go crazy again? I'm the other half of the Avatar, so we shouldn't be separated if we want to give you the best chance of hanging on to your wits until Barthandelus is defeated."

She lowered her gaze. "But…you need to go and try to use the Avatar to save Cid. If you don't all of this might be for nothing."

"If we defeat Barthandelus quick enough, we may not  _need_  to fall back on that plan," Fang pointed out. "Cid can regain his control on his own when Barthandelus is gone. I say we let Sai do what he wants."

"And if we fail?" Lightning said. "Look, I know we don't want to consider the idea, but we could very well do something wrong. Barthandelus may have another trump card to pull that will get one of us to give in to despair and create Ragnarok."

"And we're also assuming that Barthandelus is even going to make a physical appearance," Hope added. "I mean, what if he lures us to Orphan while we're chasing him and then disappears?"

"We can't hurt Orphan, right?" Snow clarified. "But if we're there, we might as well take the opportunity to stop the Cavalry from killing the thing as well."

"You never know," Charon said. "Let's not forget that Barthandelus isn't like the three of us. He's not too bright when it comes to predicting human action and he's got nothing to lose. He'll face us if it means leading us to Orphan and getting us to give in."

"Then we go bash his head in!" Shu announced, pumping a fist. "Plain and simple!"

"It's as simple a plan as we're gonna get," Sazh sighed.

"We'll take the ship tomorrow," Charon concluded. "Sai, Rei, you could still join us."

Rei shook her head. "I shouldn't be anywhere near you all or Barthandelus."

"And I'm not leaving her alone," Sai declared.

Charon nodded. "Okay then. We have our plan. We go for Barthandelus and stop the Cavalry along the way. If Cid gains his control again, he'll be the most powerful man on Cocoon and can help the transition to understanding that the people need to be stronger and not fear Pulse as they have. It won't be fast, but it may just work if we give it enough effort. That means that we'll have to protect Cid under all circumstances."

"And if we  _do_  succeed, our brands will expire…" Hope finished.

There was a moment of silence before Sai sat forward. "We're caught between a rock and a hard place. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd rather go Cie'th trying to do the right thing rather than just sitting around here in Oerba waiting to be among the masses of Cie'th. And destroying Cocoon just to be crystal is even worse - we'd be giving Barthandelus what he wants, after  _everything_  that he's done to us."

The hardened looks on everyone's faces showed that he'd said the right thing.

"Let's go save Cocoon then," Charon concluded.

Snow pumped a fist. "All right! Let's do this thing!"

* * *

Rei and Sai said their goodbyes as the others headed forward onto the ship, chatting with each other amicably. Shu gave Rei a tight hug while Sai shook hands with Charon. Then Shu gave Sai a  _crushing_  hug (Sai was then reminded that Shu was still a fal'Cie) while Rei and Charon clasped forearms in salute to each other.

"I'd give you the rundown of threats, but I think we're beyond that, no?" she smirked.

Charon chuckled lightly. "I believe so."

"Well  _we're_  not!" Shu protested, gripping Sai by the shoulders firmly. "You take care of her, mister, or I'll rip you limb from limb."

"Now, now, Shu," Charon said, pulling them off of Sai. "I'm sure Rei would do that anyway on her own."

Shu blinked. "Oh, right. You take care of her, mister, or she'll rip you limb from limb and I'll feed your remains to the bugs in the ground to be used as fertilizer for my new garden."

Sai chuckled. "Duly noted."

"You take care of yourselves," Snow said.

"We will," Rei assured him. She gave a fist bump then high five to Snow. "Don't do anything  _too_  stupid, hero."

He gave a cheeky grin. "Well, no promises, but I'll try."

"We'll see each other again," Vanille said firmly.

Sai nodded. "Maybe one day."

"I'll look after him if things go south," Rei promised.

"Are we gonna keep him like a pet Cie'th?" Shu wondered.

"Best not to think about it now, Flower," Charon muttered.

Lightning gave the Guardian Corps salute, an arm across the chest with a small bow. "Good luck, Sergeant. It's been an honor working with you."

Sai returned the salute. "You as well, Farron."

Rei ruffled Hope's hair. "See you later, kiddo. Take care of yourself. And the others, too. I have a feeling they'd all be Cie'th right now if it weren't for you. You've been through a lot, and now it's up to you to keep them together. Think you can do that?"

Hope chuckled. "I will. Promise."

Sai shook hands with Sazh. "I hope you can see your son again, Sazh."

He gave a sad smile. "One can only hope."

His chocobo chick came flying out and Sai laughed as she landed on his arm and did a little dance.

Shu giggled. "She's saying goodbye and good luck and that she'll handle the rest. She's gonna defeat the mean fal'Cie  _all_  on her own."

The chick squeaked and flapped her wings.

"Oh yeah," Sazh agreed. "All cower before the mighty power of the chocobo chick!"

Rei took Fang's hand within both of hers. "And you, don't forget that you're not alone in this, okay? Things are gonna get hard, but all of them are by your side in this. You've got a family, so don't let them down."

Fang nodded. "I got the message," she said with a smile. "No giving in and whatnot."

Rei nodded, moving to take Sai's hand. "We'll see you when we see you."

Shu jumped in and tugged them both into a hug. "I expect a mini-Shu from you two, so don't go dying on me. We'll find  _some_  way to make this right, I promise."

After a long and dragged out goodbye, they were finally able to drag themselves to the ship and board with Rei and Sai looking on from the bridge.

 _Even if we were chasing shadows, our minds were made up. We'd realized along the way that choice was the only thing we had left_.

Rei and Sai took a step back as the engines fired up and the ship rose from the bridge.

 _Maybe we'd fall short. Maybe we'd never even come close. But someone, someday, would know we'd tried_.

The ship retracted the wheels and the engines moved into position before the ship blasted away across Gran Pulse and up to Cocoon. They flew to the portal in the sky Barthandelus had left for them, breeching Cocoon's atmosphere and disappearing.

There was a long period of silence after they were gone before Sai took a deep breath. "So, about that mini-Shu…"

Rei laughed. "Let's just get back to the village, dolt."

But she was holding his hand a little tighter the entire way.

* * *

From the distance, two figures stood atop the crystal dunes, watching the ship take off and zoom away.

"Will they survive?" the first one asked.

"We'll see soon, won't we? If they don't, then it's all up to us."

"Funny. I thought they came this way looking for  _us_."

"They're just children, love. They get distracted easily. Just be ready for when hell breaks loose. Don't wanna disappoint my mother."

* * *

" _People of Cocoon. My fellow citizens. We have survived the twilight, and gather now to welcome the dawn of the day on which_ we _decide our fate. Many are the lessons we have learned during our long night of hardship and sacrifice. And now we face choices, which must be made as our hearts dictate, and not abandoned to uncaring chance. Let us forge ahead with unflinching courage. And honor the fallen with action. With these hands, we shape the future._ "

The crowd cheered wildly as the numerous hoverbikes took position at the starting line for the race in Eden. The lights began the countdown and each rider revved their engine. Finally, Cid snapped his fingers as he finished his speech and the bikes were off, zooming down the runway, some choosing to go straight down the path, others hovering up and through the rings placed for the competition.

"Yes!" The one racer in the lead zoomed ahead before he looked up and saw something that he hadn't been expecting. "What the-?!"

In the night sky above the race, a large green image of a person appeared, almost like a goddess overseeing the race, before it flashed and from the torso appeared a ship.

"We're out!" Charon announced from the pilot seat. "Go, go, go!"

Lightning was the first to jump out, summoning her Eidolon with the others not far behind. "Odin!"

The horse transformed into human form and fell beside her, Vanille and Hecatoncheir at her right, Fang and Bahamut at her left. Beyond Fang was Hope with Alexander and beyond Vanille was Sazh with Brynhildr, Snow behind diving beneath all of them with the Shiva Sisters.

"Let's go, Chare!" Shu announced, grabbing him and tugging him out the open hatch.

He let Shu take him out and into the open, abandoning the ship as it flew forward and nearly hit the racer in first place. "Whoops. Sorry dude!"

The racer turned his vehicle perpendicular to the track and sideways so that the bottom of his cycle was flying forward, but he tipped too far in sliding under the ship and ended up hitting the track, and at those speeds he was instantly sent flying out of control. He tumbled through the air with a shout but was caught on either side of his ride by the two Shiva sisters, Snow jumping atop the saved vehicle and waving to the cheering crowd who was watching on the screens.

"Close call!" Snow announced. "And the hero saves the day! Oh, no, no, you're too kind! No - no, no, thank you! Thank you!"

"What is he doing?" Lightning sighed.

"He's being Snow," Shu muttered.

He raised his arms and waved at the crowds, but of course, his brand was in an easy to see position and it wasn't exactly subtle - seeing as the eye was near completely open at that point - and so his brand was zoomed in on by the camera the moment it was spotted, and the crowd began to panic.

Screams went out across the crowd, replacing the cheers, which instantly had Snow pausing before he realized what had happened. "Oop, probably should've covered that," he sighed casually before jumping off the cycle and ordering his Eidolon to come together into motorcycle form and racing down the track in the opposite direction as the rest of the cycles.

" _Intruders on the race circuit! Confirmed Pulse l'Cie! All units respond with lethal force!_ "

"Great," Charon deadpanned.

"Catch me if you  _can!_ " Snow called before gunning his ride forward and dodging a stream of bullets sent his way.

Soldiers and Orions were sent out to pursue him, but Hope, who was standing at a platform just above the runway, saw Snow drive past him and jumped down in the midst of the numerous passing vehicles and Orions. He came face to…well, face to head with an Orion that looked at him curiously, but Hope faced the large war machine with a smile.

"Hi there."

The Orion raised its arm to attack, but a moment later it was crushed as Alexander jumped down right on top of it.

"Cut 'em off!" Hope ordered.

Alexander held out his arms to maximize his surface area and stopped three cycles that ran straight into him, the soldiers inside screaming. At that point, it was unclear who was an enemy and who was just a racer, but all of them wanted the l'Cie dead at any rate. Alexander tossed away the cycles and Hope summoned Alexander's pillars for his Gestalt form to create an entire fortress that completely cut off the entire road, also allowing Alexander a firm position that gave him a clear shot at anyone else who tried to pass them.

Shu spread their arms as they fell, the wind sweeping their hair back as they smiled. "Heave ho, boys!"

They raised their blade, flipping in the air and then coming down on the track with a shockwave strong enough to break the glass of the track all the way at least a few kilometers down. Soldiers went flying, cycles were overturned and thrown out of control, the entire track started to come apart, and Shu smirked to raise their blade onto their shoulder.

"Whoops. Hope they have insurance."

"Up here!" Charon called, waving Shu up. "Skytanks incoming!"

Shu looked up and saw an entire fleet of them flying in, all armed to the teeth with both soldiers and machines. "Ooo, they're bringing in the big guns."

"That's what we're here for," Charon said. "Come on!"

He drew his Wakizashi in his right hand and a few Kozuka in his left. Shu jumped up and wrapped their arms over his shoulders. "Ready!"

Charon tossed his Kozuka, reaching down to grab more of them with each swing, until he was out. He had plastered the small blades over the entire fleet. "Where to first, love?"

"That one!" Shu pointed. "First one to take out five gets bought dinner!"

Charon flicked his wrist and the two of them flashed away, heading to the Skytanks and splitting up.

Snow dodged a cycle that was thrown his way by Alexander with a smirk. "Oh-ho! Think we have a  _winner!_ "

Lightning, who was riding Odin further down the track, waited for the opportunity to take one of the cycles. "Now!"

Odin transformed and circled around to throw Lightning forward as she drew her gunblade and fired, taking down one of the soldiers on the cycles and landing on another heading in the opposite direction she was flying. She took cover as a third cycle fired at her, jumping and landing on it as the soldier attempted to turn around and shoot her, now zooming past in the right direction. She dug her sword into the cycle to hold on and hang off the edge, working to make sure the cycle didn't flip.

"You're dead!"

"You  _first!_ " Lightning snapped, ripping the soldier out of his seat and chucking him across the track.

Lightning reared back and swung her weight around so that the cycle flipped completely over, and she was standing on top in its upright position, holding onto her sword. Fang flew beside her on Bahamut with a chuckle before Lightning tore her weapon free, having already destroyed the cycle's controls with her gunblade as Fang split off to deal with another wave of the soldiers. Lightning jumped to the next cycle that was firing at her, grabbing onto the roof and kicking the soldier out in one move and then readjusting her position so that she could fire her gunblade at the next, shooting the man out of his cycle and sending both him and the vehicle flying. Lightning saw another opponent on her opposite side, getting too close and she realized he was trying to ram her cycle. So, Lightning returned the favor and jerked her entire body weight so that the cycle shoved against the other and he drove straight into one of the rings that was there for the cyclists to drive through. Lightning stabilized her ride once more and looked out forward down the track, which she had cleared out for the moment.

Meanwhile Vanille was standing atop a Skytank under heavy fire from the soldiers, but Hecaton was able to block the bullets with his many arms.

"Fire! Take her down!"

"Hey! Stop that!" Vanille shouted, ordering Hecaton to sweep his arms forward to attack. "I said  _stop that!_ "

Hecaton's arm snapped forward and expanded, sending a group of soldiers flying. Hecaton was slowly being pushed back, and then Vanille saw a new soldier stepping forward with a bigger gun that was actually an RPG.

"Uh-oh…"

"Block this!"

He fired, and while Hecaton was actually able to block Vanille from harm, they were both sent flying off the Skytank as Vanille screamed. Hecaton, acting quickly, reached out its arms and grabbed the side of the Skytank, using their momentum from falling to bring the entire Skytank down, the soldiers screaming and falling off as it turned off course and then completely tumbled out of the sky.

"I got it!" Charon called, grabbing his Zanmato and setting it ablaze with flames.

He jumped up and sliced the Skytank down while Shu jumped on and waved their hand, wrapping it in vines and squeezing the entire ship so that it was crushed within the plants. Charon looked up and saw even more Skytanks were remaining.

"More?" Shu asked.

"We're almost done," Charon announced. "Take down the Skytanks then back up the others."

Shu sighed. "This has gotten boring. If only the Avatars could've been here to shake the earth."

"Vanille!" Sazh shouted, driving Brynhildr down the runway towards her where Hecaton had landed and was sliding across the track, sparks flying.

Hecaton crashed into one of the large posts that were meant to be an obstacle for the racers to avoid before Sazh turned his Eidolon around to reverse directions as Vanille and Hecaton nearly soared clean past. Brynhildr transformed and grabbed onto Hecaton, bringing both of them to a stop.

"Gotcha!"

"Odin!" Lightning shouted, abandoning her cycle as she was forced to jump over the Skytank that Vanille had brought down across the track.

She aimed her cycle upwards and threw it away as she reached the peak of her arc over the Skytank, jumping into her steed and maneuvering through the carnage that he large Skytank was inflicting, sending parts of the track and soldiers flying. Lightning drew her Zantetsuken blades to slice through parts of the track like the rings and posts as well as any mechanical monsters that came her way like the Orions. She and Odin ducked under another Skytank, jumping up as Lightning sliced through the first few soldiers that got in her way. She and Odin then worked in sync to take the rest down, Lightning handing her weapons back to Odin as he transformed again, and Lighting drew her gunblade. Odin swung her around for one slice before continuing his arc to cut down even more and Lightning charged forward to slice clean through an Orion.

"Move it!"

"Heads up!" Shu called, taking an entire Skytank wriggling with plants and throwing it down the track.

Odin shielded Lightning from the Skytank and tossed it away towards pursuing soldiers before tossing his sword to Lightning and transforming, swiftly allowing her to remount. "Let's go!"

Charon smashed one final Skytank, riding it down as it crashed into the track. Up in the sky, Phoenix - the fal'Cie in charge of being basically the artificial sun of Cocoon - began to glow, changing the scene from night to day within seconds, skipping past dawn and jumping right to about midday.

"What's  _he_  up to?" Shu asked, jumping down to be beside Charon.

"Dunno. Probably an emergency protocol. We should get to Cid."

"You sure they can handle themselves without us?"

Charon looked down at Lightning and Odin taking on an Anavatapta Warmech. "Yeah, I think they'll survive."

* * *

"See? He barely notices us."

"I'll admit it's a nice view," Sai said.

"It's even better from atop Titan's shoulder, but I suppose we'll have to make do with an Adamantoise. Not that there's anything wrong with you, buddy."

The two of them rode the large creature across the Archylte Steppe. Rei had resolved to teach Sai about the beauty of Pulse and what you could do when you had a fal'Cie as a friend. She'd already taught him how to ride a Megistotherian and lead a pack of Gorgonopsids, as well as how to steal a Behemoth King's weapon for yourself (unfortunately, he was too small to properly wield it, but it was fun to watch Rei having so much fun). She had taken him on the back of an Amphisbaena and had made friends with a Cactuar - you know, when they'd actually gotten the guy to calm down and stop running. Sai had managed to outwit the Cactuar using a pit trap and Rei's help, which had apparently earned the Cactuar's respect somehow and now all Cactuars saw him as an ally. She made a mental note to tell Shu about that little detail so they could consult Sai on how to be friends with the Cactuars.

"You think he gets bored just wandering around the plains all day without goal?" Sai asked.

"Not really. He's got enough of a mind to recognize threats and fight, but otherwise he's pretty content with the nice, easy walk. The other animals of the Steppe know to leave the Adamantoise alone or they get stomped on without mercy. It's nothing personal - the Adamantoise just don't care enough to avoid every little thing in their path. In fact, he probably runs over things without even realizing it."

The two of them rode close together on the Adamantoise shell, and eventually Rei had sat in front of Sai and leaned back against him.

"Wonder how the others are doing."

"They're probably kicking ass and taking names," Sai smiled. "Well, kicking ass. Don't think they care about taking names."

"True."

" ** _Say it_**."

"You should see the stars out here at night."

"I look forward to it."

" ** _Go on_** **.** "

"And I should also make sure to show you our old home - if it's still there, anyway. It's covered in plants thanks to Shu."

"I'm sure it is."

" ** _Just get it over with. Rip off the band-aid, sister!_** "

Rei tried to hush the voice in her head that took on Shu's voice. Rei's inner conscious seemed to like to be Shu whenever it needed to talk to her. Especially when it was having an argument with her since it knew that she couldn't resist Shu's optimistic view on life. Overall it was still Rei's mind arguing with herself, she just liked to imagine it was Shu in there.

Rei increased her grip on Sai's hand, which was resting on her stomach as she leaned against his chest. "You'll be okay."

He looked down at her. "You shouldn't be worrying yourself to ruin over that."

"I can't help it. I…"

" ** _Don't. If you say it there's no going back._** "

" ** _And if you don't there's no going back either,_** " mental-Shu said.

" ** _And if you say it, you'll miss him even more._** "

" ** _And if you don't, you'll miss that time when you still had the option._** "

" ** _Would you two_** **please** ** _shut up?_** " Rei demanded of her cynical and optimistic parts of her mind.

"I'm gonna miss you for the rest of my life," she said aloud.

She felt him chuckled lightly, the small rumble in his chest right up against her ear. "Don't worry. I'm just human. There'll be more in the future. You'll find others."

"I don't  _want_  to."

"Well I want you to. You can't beat yourself up about this for the rest of your life, however long it may be. You have to look after everyone, all of the human race. Maybe, one day, you'll meet me when I come back, when I'm reborn."

"You believe so?"

"I have to. I have to believe that Etro will allow me to see you again."

"She probably doesn't like you. She probably doesn't like  _any_  of us."

"Why not?"

"We've killed. It doesn't matter if it was in self-defense, doesn't matter if they were evil and stuff. They were human, and Etro loves all humans regardless. Out of every soldier in the Sanctum, none of them have ever killed as many people as we have. Even during the entire Purge, a lot of those humans survived. That isn't to say that she loves all of those soldiers more than us - they've done plenty of killing. She definitely doesn't like Barthandelus and his callous murder and casual plan to destroy Cocoon and all of the humans within, but we're not very high on her list either."

"I'll beg and plead with her if I must, but I  _will_  be back. You and Shu, at least, are too good for her to be mad at for long, and even Charon's coming around."

She closed her eyes. "But the only way for you to be reborn is if you die. As a l'Cie…or as a Cie'th." She tightened her grip on his hand again. "I don't want to lose you like that. I don't think I'll be able to wait."

"It's easier to be the one that dies, I know. It hurts  _me_  knowing I might take so long that I worry you. But if you don't remember me, if you aren't there looking for me and believing that I'll be back, then I won't be able to follow your light back to you. Charon and Shu will be there for you. You've looked after Shu all your life, now let them do the same for you. They don't want you to be sad,  _I_  don't want you to be sad. So please, just hang on. I'll find you, if you'll still be waiting for me."

"You won't remember who you are. Etro will take your soul, but in the process of rebirth, your heart and mind will be lost."

"They won't be lost if you keep them for me. Keep a piece of me in  _your_  heart. You're probably the only one that could. As long as you survive, so will I - until I get a body to come back in."

She leaned into his grip. "Okay. I'll do that."

And she still hadn't said it. Because the moment she said she loved him, that's when she'd have something to lose. And the moment she had something to lose, Barthandelus would use that against her. The Avatar had warned her. She couldn't tell the one person she wanted because that would mean he would have control again. She couldn't tell him until Barthandelus died.

"You need to go back," she said. "You need to go to Cocoon and use the Avatars to win this."

"I'm not leaving you and that's final. Besides, I can't get back to Cocoon in any case."

Just as he said that, there was a large rumble and electric whoosh as the Adamantoise they were on was suddenly engulfed in a portal. The two of them held onto each other and the Adamantoise before they finally came to a stop and found themselves in a large city.

"What the hell was that?" Rei asked.

"A transgate," Sai said. "We're on Cocoon."

Rei sighed. "Wonderful."

* * *

"Cid!"

Charon pushed open the doors to Cid's chambers and froze.

"No!"

Shu hurried past and over to the couch where Cid was slumped over.

"Shot point blank in the head," Charon deduced upon closer inspection.

"What do we do  _now?_ " Shu demanded. "If we can't use Cid, Cocoon will be in complete disarray. Let alone stopping the Cavalry, we'll never get the public on our side. The others…"

Charon went to a panel on the wall and typed in a code before a keyboard slid out.

"Whatcha doin'?" Shu asked.

"I worked for Barthandelus when he was Primarch for  _centuries_. I know all of the emergency protocols and it looks like I still have access to the system despite my defecting. Guess Barthandelus didn't really find a need to delete my access codes from all of the database - probably too much effort for little need."

"Yeah, but whatcha doin'?"

"Oh, right. I'm looking for the footage of what happened in here. There are obviously security cameras. And…here we go."

Shu leaned over Charon's shoulder to watch the screen as they saw a soldier come in and warn Cid that they had to evacuate, while Cid simply sat there silently. A moment later, the Cavalry soldiers swarmed in and took out all of Cid's security.

"Is that Rygdea?" Shu asked.

"Yes," Charon said grimly.

"But he was such a nice man…"

"He believed in Cid with everything that he had, devoted himself to the cause of the Cavalry, and for Cid to go and throw that away was too much for him. He never knew Cid was a l'Cie, and here he didn't know what Barthandelus had done to him."

Shu watched as Cid gave a small nod for Rygdea to do as he pleased - in fact, Cid was silently begging for it on the inside. Being a puppet once more was too much for Cid as well, the room was full of people who had been destroyed by Barthandelus just like so many others. Charon took Shu's hand as they flinched when Cid was shot. Other Sanctum troops had made it to Cid's room to see what was happening, but before they could do anything, they were assaulted by a shower of bullets from the Cavalry members.

Rygdea's shouting voice could be heard through the speakers. " _Damn idealism! Ya feed it blood, and it_ howls _for_ more!"

"Dammit…" Charon hissed. "He's gonna get himself  _killed_."

"No, Chare," Shu said. "He's already dead inside."

Charon went over to one of Cid's fallen guards outside the door and pulled off his helmet. With a little modifying, he was able to extract the communicator and modify some of the parts of the helmet so that he could have the communicator in his ear without needing the helmet. An explosion outside rumbled the building and Shu walked over to the window to see explosion and gunfire coming from everywhere they could see. Alarms were going off, there was smoke in the distance - and it wasn't coming just from the raceway where the team had just wreaked havoc.

"This is General MCS code 46321," Charon said into the COMM. "What is the status of Eden?"

" _Patrol units reporting an invasion!_ " a voice shouted. " _Redirecting their line to you sir!_ "

"General MCS?" Shu asked.

Charon moved the speaker away from his ear. "General Mataecharonsan. Barthandelus made me General of a great deal of the Sanctum for emergencies like these. Looks like my status hasn't been revoked - he probably didn't think of it. Now hush for a moment, will ya?" He moved the speaker to his ear. "Say again, patrol, and speak clearly."

" _The armies of Pulse! They're using transgates!_ "

"Transgates?! _How many coming through?_ "

" _Numbers unconfirmed, but it's a full-scale invasion! Eden's being overrun!_ "

"Regroup and focus your efforts on getting the civilians to safety!" Charon ordered. "Avoid confrontation with the larger threats unless absolutely necessary and proper numbers and equipment have been attained! Keep all threats mapped out, maybe try and contain them to the streets and hide the civilians in buildings - but not too high up, maximum of three floors per building, we don't want people trapped in there if something crashes into it. Eden can be rebuilt - the population not so easily. Set up checkpoints at the gates, they should be fortified enough to keep out any hostiles."

" _This is Colonel Yaag Rosch. All PSICOM units direct their attention to eliminating the l'Cie threat. It is most likely they are the cause of this invasion, so if you desire the safety of Cocoon you will find them as soon as possible._ "

"Rosch, top priority should be protecting the citizens-"

" _The former General has been removed from command for conspiring with the insurgents known as the Cavalry and is accused of assassinating the late Primarch, Cid Raines! His authority has hereby been revoked! All PSICOM units are to proceed with l'Cie operations!_ "

Charon looked up at the sound of footsteps and quickly ran and grabbed Shu, pulling them back towards the window and kicking the glass to allow them to fly free.

"What's happening?!" Shu called over the wind.

"I've been fired, apparently! Rosch has taken command of the army! We need to report this to the others!"

"There they are!"

Shu pointed to where the group had gathered atop a platform near the raceway. Charon nodded to Shu as the two of them rushed over.

* * *

"This is out of  _control_ ," Sazh announced when Charon and Shu had finished explaining the situation. "What'll happen to Cocoon?"

Lightning stepped forward, looking out to the city that was falling apart. "It's all-out war."

"Did we cause this by coming back?" Hope wondered aloud. "Barthandelus's prediction - it's all coming true."

"Only because he  _made_  it that way," Charon declared. "This isn't  _our_  fault, Hope, it's  _his_. He set this  _whole_ thing up, taking machines from the Ark and monsters from Pulse to make this invasion on top of our arrival all in an attempt to destroy the entire world. He was just waiting for us to make an appearance so that he could start this war, pinning the blame all on us. The army's in disarray, the people have no hope of being calmed down, and he expects us to be the same and to panic. All in the name of making one or more of us give in to despair."

"Well  _his future_  stops right here," Snow declared. " _We're_  the ones who decide what happens next."

"Let's get moving!" Vanille urged.

Hope nodded. "Right."

"Okay," Sazh agreed.

All of them turned to walk off. The glass platform that normally served as a walkway had been shattered in the fighting, but the structure beneath still remained to create thin paths that they could still traverse - though they had to be pretty careful. They used Ruin spells to take out the flying Varcolaci and made it to a larger, circular platform in order to face a Bulwarker. While walking, Charon passed out the Antimatter Manipulation Principle (AMP) Grav-Con Unit devices that he'd liberated during his and Shu's tangent. As they made their way forward, they came to a dead end where it seemed the area came to an end with the platform being only a semi-circle.

"I only managed four since there were only four guys there," Charon admitted.

"I'm covered, and I liberated a few from our little stunt back there," Lightning announced.

"Oh, that's perfect."

Sazh walked to the edge of the platform, looking down at the drop. "Uh, okay, I don't know about  _this_."

"That has to be a thousand meters!" Shu exclaimed.

"1,444," Charon corrected. "Approximately 4,700 feet, give or take a few dozen feet or so."

"That's, like, the broken part of Taejin's Tower!"

Vanille kneeled forward, looking at the empty space in dismay, the ground below so far away. "If  _only_  we could  _fly!_ "

Lightning held out a Grav-Con to Vanille. "We can jump."

She dropped the object in Vanille's hand, who gripped it instinctively. "Huh? What are you-?"

Lightning jumped and dived elegantly off the edge of the platform to Vanille's horror, but before she could even scream her thoughts, Sazh was the next one, putting his hands to his afro and leaping off the edge.

"Nothing to it!"

"See ya ground-side!" Snow called before taking the plunge.

"Whee!" Shu screamed as they leaped after him.

"Get serious!" Charon called as he jumped after them.

"Wait a minute!" Vanille protested as Hope followed. "You're all  _crazy!_ " she shouted, standing and backing away from the edge.

Fang patted her on the back, stepping past her. "Don't wanna get left  _behind_ , do you?"

Vanille squeaked in terror, realizing that she  _would_  be left behind and what Fang was doing. Even Fang stood with her back to the edge with a smile and help up the Grav-Con in her hand.

"Just remember, don't drop the gizmo."

With that, Fang hopped backwards down the long drop.

"Fang!" Vanille looked to the device Lightning had handed her. "This thing…? Uh…okay!"

Seeing the others getting ever further away, she reluctantly dropped off the edge after them.

Down below was a walkway filled to the brim with Sanctum troops. Everyone worked to aim themselves in the air, face first with the wind pushing back against their faces. Charon flew downwards and dived ahead with Lightning, while Shu flipped and spun in the air laughing. Fang smirked as she fell, while Vanille flailed and screamed the whole time, but otherwise they were straining to keep on course (Sazh chocobo chick squeaking into the wind). Finally, Lightning drew her gunblade and Charon prepared fans of his Kozuka before tossing their Grav-Con devices to explode into a large bubble of energy-manipulating technology. The Grav-Cons did as they were designed, absorbing and reducing the impact of the user's landing and transferring that energy to be temporarily expended in another way.

In this instance, the Grav-Cons first increased the gravity in the area it overtook, creating a blanket of energy ready to be manipulated and consequently instantly taking down an entire platoon of soldiers that they had landed within. Then, Lightning and Charon both stomped down on their feet right in the epicenter of the Grav-Con to catch their fall, turning the heavy hit of their acceleration and instant deceleration into a punch of energy. The kinetic energy transferred to the Grav-Con bubble, which expanded and sent the energy in all directions like an explosion, throwing the soldiers in every direction with a chorus of screams and hitting them with the full force of what Lightning's fall might have done to her had she been forced to take the fall normally - not to mention Charon had been purposefully using his flight power to throw himself downwards. The energy bubble dispersed, clinging to the soldiers and keeping them in the air as the Grav-Con combated gravity in order to release the built-up energy, and ended up instantly killing them despite their armor.

Lightning and Charon, who had landed side by side, nodded to each other and ran forward, firing from a gunblade and throwing Kozuka respectively. Behind them, the others tossed their Grav-Cons down to catch them a lot more gently - Sazh first with his chocobo chick landing in his hands and Snow next as he hurried forward to catch up with Lightning and Charon. Lightning dodge-rolled to the right and returned gunfire to the next platoon of soldiers while Charon threw a Kozuka forward and warped past the line as his full weight appeared holding the knife and taking the unfortunate soldier down. He swept his Kozuka in a Blitz and diverted the attention of the panicked platoon, giving Lightning the opportunity to get a clear shot of many of them. Hope and Fang, new to the experience, landed carefully in their Grav-Con bubbles but still very gracefully.

"Come and get it!"

Shu dived into the area and fell into their Grav-Con with their hands behind their head, the bubble exploding similar to how Lightning's had, but this time plants exploded free from their body like a kraken and wrapped up a dozen of soldiers upon impact. Charon warped around the area while Lightning rushed forward in a frontal assault, backflipping to dodge frantic gunfire from the desperate soldiers attempting to hold their own.

Vanille came in screaming, dropping her Grav-Con and hoping it landed beneath her. Luckily, it did, but she landed on her behind and felt a jolt despite the Grav-Con breaking most of her fall.

She grumbled and shifted to rise to her feet, looking at Fang smirking down at her. "You could have  _warned_ me!"

"That's how they get around on Cocoon," Fang shrugged casually.

"That's how  _Light_  gets around!" Hope corrected.

Fang chuckled. "Let's go."

The others ran to catch up as Lightning finished off the final soldier and sheathed her gunblade. "Right," she muttered.

"Well, that went well," Shu smiled, their plants wrapping around and disappearing into their body.

"We need to get to get to Edenhall," Charon announced. "It's the heart of Eden and where Orphan is said to lie. The Cavalry should know it, too; therefore, they'll be headed there. Barthandelus is probably expecting us as well."

"Three birds, one sunflower!" Shu announced.

"One  _stone_ ," Charon corrected.

" _Sunflower_ ," Shu insisted.

They fought past more Corps Defenders swarming about the area as well as Adamantherons, avoiding explosions coming in from above.

"Stay sharp!" "Move!" "Through here!" "Station secure!"

"Cavalry, stand down! Eden's under  _our_  jurisdiction!"

"Does it sound like the Sanctum believes the Cavalry isn't at fault here?" Shu asked. "Or am I mishearing?"

"No," Charon said. "Despite the Cavalry being slightly infamous for rejecting the fal'Cie's ways, they still had the best intentions for the people of Cocoon. They were still a trusted branch of the military, and it looks like our Pulse friends have taken all the attention away from the coup. Barthandelus has plunged Eden into chaos. Cid's out of commission, and so the chain of command has fallen to Rosch - who's only making things worse by prioritizing the l'Cie hunt above the protection of the people of Eden."

"We need to hurry and stop Barthandelus, if nothing else."

"We can use those elevators to move forward," Hope suggested, pointing.

"Let's clear the way," Fang announced.

They hurried forward, defeating the Sanctum Seraphs who had a Bulwarker along, using a Flag Strike Point to send out a Targeting Beacon that would cause the Bulwarker to send out Guided Missiles. Lightning was quick to destroy the Targeting Beacon before that that could happen, saving them unnecessary trouble, and once they had cleared the area, Charon got to work activating the elevators.

"Rosch may be in charge and has taken my ability to order around the Sanctum troops, but he can't lock me out of the systems - not completely, especially with all the chaos happening around us." He clicked a button and the panel beeped. "Got it. Let's move."

They nodded, boarding the elevator and moving deeper into Eden, knowing full well that the world they were trying to save may yet destroy itself no matter their actions. All they knew was that they had to stop Barthandelus - at the very least, they could prevent him from ever trying this again with even more l'Cie in the future. His days of ruining people's lives were over.


	43. No Match for NORA

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Stupid thing!" Shu pouted, kicking the dead Behemoth King.
> 
> "Save your energy for later," Charon said.
> 
> "He hit you, Chare."
> 
> "And I hit him back."
> 
> "But he was rude about it."
> 
> "So was I."
> 
> "No, you were very elegant about it, really."
> 
> "You'd think everything I do is elegant."
> 
> "Not true! You…you're not very elegant with chocobos."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You probably know the schpeel by now about how I'm so sorry that I haven't updated and I'm swamped by work and I have testing coming up and also Prom since my friends are like "Come with us! You don't need a date for Prom, you just need friends!" and I'm like "Uh, okay, sure…let's do…it?" and then I wonder what I've gotten myself into.
> 
> Can you believe we are so close to the end? I can't. I mean minus the fact that I'm doing the second and third game. In which case, ha! Not even close at all. But the original 13 game is significantly longer than 13-2 and LR if you think about it. Subtract all the fetch quests and they're pretty short games in the long run. Doesn't mean I'm gonna be able to transcribe them any faster if my muse continues to abandon me like this. Curse it. Also life. Taking me away.
> 
> Oh, I also have two puppies that are adorable and I love them but they take up lots of time and they bite me to say hello. Lovable fluffballs with teeth.
> 
> PS. I just found Castlevania on Netflix and OH MY GOSH IT'S SO MUCH BETTER THAN ANYTHING I'VE SEEN IN THE WORLD OF ANIMATION SINCE FOREVER! I'm currently obsessing over it. Writing a fanfic that I'm probably never gonna post, but then again, I do that a lot. I have an FFVII story that I've written hundreds of pages of but I don't have an ending to it, so…yeah. I also have a Miraculous Ladybug one, but that was because my friend stupidly made me watch it and I stupidly started liking it. But again, no actual ending or plot. If you want these to be posted, tell me. Shameless request for reviews to kick my muse into action.
> 
> Enjoy! :P

"These are cozy elevators," Shu remarked.

"They're cramped," Charon corrected.

"What? Don't like my presence?"

"I, for one, don't like being cooped up in small spaces when I'm, in reality, a fifty-foot dragon fal'Cie."

Shu snuggled against Charon's arm. "Don't worry. I'll be here when your claustrophobia gets the best of you."

"It's  _not_  claustrophobia. It's just claustro-discomfort."

"Is that a word?"

"It should be."

The elevator came to a stop and they stepped out, the electric door disappearing like a hologram. The others joined them, hurrying forward with weapons drawn in case of another ambush, only to find that they'd come to a highway that was filled with cars zipping by at high speeds, attempting to escape the chaos at the heart of Eden.

Sazh sighed and lowered his pistols. "So the Cavalry's here to, uh…"

"They're here for Orphan," Lightning finished. "If it's close to the fal'Cie Eden, they're probably headed for the heart of the Sanctum."

"Right," Fang agreed. "And if they destroy it,  _bad_  things are gonna happen."

"So long Cocoon," Hope summarized.

"Talk about keeping all of your eggs in one basket," Shu muttered. "I thought Eden was the one that ran everything on Cocoon.  _And_  he's next to Orphan, the thing that  _powers_  Eden that runs everything on Cocoon - including keeping the entire planet in the sky."

"Bart  _wanted_  to make the destruction of this planet easy when the time came, and the humans were none the wiser," Charon explained.

"We better get there before the Cavalry does then," Snow declared.

"Yeah." "Right." "Uh-huh."

Shu tilted their head and put an arm across their torso, resting an elbow on their palm to tap their chin. "So…we've gotta go through… _this_  thing?"

Lighting was already looking into the cars zipping past with no breaks that could be seen and no sidewalks. Of all the things for Cocoon people to have ignored inventing, sidewalks were  _not_  something Shu had expected.

Lightning flipped her gunblade into her sheath. "Uh-oh."

Charon looked over to where her gaze was, where the distinct shimmer of a transgate forming was evident. "Uh-oh," he repeated.

Right in the middle of the track where the cars were zooming past, the transgate flashed open and revealed a Behemoth. Without even confirming what type of Behemoth it was, Lightning saw the basic shape and deduced trouble.

"Let's move!"

"Wha-? Hey, hey, hey, hey!"

The others exclaimed in surprise as she charged straight into oncoming traffic, leaping over a hover-car that nearly ran her over. As the others tried to pursue, they were brought to a halt dodging the very vehicle that Lightning bounded over. Snow was the farthest out chasing after Lightning, but he shoved Hope behind him to avoid the traffic while Vanille cowered behind Fang and Sazh bumped into Fang as he backstepped.

"Hey! Wait up!" Shu called.

Lightning landed in the middle of the road, her sword drawn once more, with Charon bounding after her and drawing his Wakizashi. Traffic had evidently been stopped based on the trail of vehicles left behind as the Behemoth - now identified as a Behemoth King - barreled through down the track, tossing vehicles every which way. Lightning and Charon leaped over a few examples, flipping in the air and pushing off of the thrown cars to gain both height and speed, raising their weapons to strike. They ended up hitting the sword embedded within the Behemoth King's head, metal clanking on metal, before the King raised its head and tossed them away.

Vanille exclaimed in horror as the group unanimously sprinted to aid them.

"Lightning!" "Chare!" Snow and Shu shouted respectively.

"Maneuver 15!" Charon shouted.

Lightning flipped in the air and stabbed her sword into the ground to bring herself to a stop, swinging around and using her centripetal force to her advantage and setting herself on her feet with her weapon drawn. Charon was flung upwards and spun around as he allowed gravity to take over and then purposefully flew downwards to clash as the King drew its sword from its head with a feral roar. Charon kicked the King in the snout as he fell to the track below him and rolled to a stop with the others behind him, all drawing their weapons while Behemoth King stepped forward to fight.

* * *

"Stupid thing!" Shu pouted, kicking the dead Behemoth King.

"Save your energy for later," Charon said.

"He hit you, Chare."

"And I hit him back."

"But he was rude about it."

"So was I."

"No, you were very elegant about it, really."

"You'd think  _everything_  I do is elegant."

"Not true! You…you're not very elegant with chocobos."

Charon frowned and crossed his arms. "You think my lack of grace with wild animals is cute."

Shu held the most stoic face they could possibly manage. "Yes, yes you are.  _So_  cute."

He frowned. "Not cute."

" _Very_  cute."

"Argue later, monsters now," Fang announced.

A screech went out across the area as a horde of Orobons from Pulse ran down the track.

Sazh let out a heavy sigh, his hand at his forehead. "We're  _never_  gonna make it."

"Not with an attitude like  _that_ , we won't!" Vanille countered.

"We move swiftly," Charon announced. "The faster we break through, the better. Just be happy that we seem to have a pretty clear path to the heart of Eden - for now."

"No negativity," Shu declared. "We can make it!"

The street was filled with cars that had been run off the side of the road with civilians scattered about in safe zones. Shu looked to the electronic ads scattered about despite the destruction.

"I don't believe it," a bystander muttered. "Pulse finally attacked!"

"How are we supposed to convince these people that we're not the enemy?" Hope wondered.

"Saving them's gotta count for  _something_ ," Snow said optimistically. "After all, we're the heroes, right?"

"I feel like I'm forgetting something," Shu said, tapping their temple as they walked, resting their elbow on their arm across their torso in a thinking position. "Or maybe some _one?_ "

"Yeah, me too," Charon muttered.

"Incoming!" Lightning called.

"Huh?" Fang exclaimed.

An Amphisbaena came down from the sky and the track was blasted, shrapnel big and small everywhere blocking their path like a maze, but they were still able to get through, luckily. They sliced through some Adamantherons and soldiers, even encountering a Proto-Behemoth, one of the strongest military-made Behemoths.

"He was very rude!" Shu declared.

"He didn't even get the chance to transform before you staggered him and launched him," Charon pointed out. "Poor thing was debuffed to the max too."

"He used Heave on Fang and Hope.  _Very_  rude."

They were making headway at least, climbing over some rubble across the track before finding that it came to an end. Sitting at the end of the track was a large machine resembling a familiar bug.

"Hey, wasn't that the thing Rosch was flying in when he pursued us from the Palamecia?" Shu announced.

"Just what we needed," Lightning muttered.

"How did he even survive getting shot at the Estheim Residence in Palumpolum?" Fang wondered.

"Modern technology?" Charon suggested.

"The guy who shot had Stormtrooper aim?" Shu suggested.

They headed down to the beetle-like machine to find Rosch coming out to confront them.

"Rosch?" Snow stepped up.

Rosch regarded them calmly, all things considered. All of Eden was falling apart under the attack from the Pulsian creatures, Cid the Primarch and subsequently most of the chain of command in the military had fallen apart, the populace was in danger thanks to Rosch's decision to prioritize the l'Cie hunt, and the man was now facing all of the l'Cie combined together after they'd come together at their strongest. With the training in the Ark and on Pulse, along with the fact that Charon and Shu were working together again, he Rosch was facing a near unstoppable force with confidence that he really had no right to have.

"I see your power has  _grown_ , Mr. Villiers." Rosch put his arm across his chest so that his fist rested on his heart. "No matter. We will lay down our  _lives_  if that is what it takes to  _stop_  you."

"Oh, we're on the same side here," Snow urged. "We came back to  _stop_  all of this!"

"Nevertheless. You  _are_  l'Cie."

Rosch held his hand out and his machine behind him came to life. Rosch teleported back inside the cabin, taking the controls as the bug-like mechanism stomped on the ground before jumping up and changing to aerial mode, showing off an array of missile launchers at the ready.

"We can trust the  _pawns_  no more than the fal'Cie who  _move_  them! Humanity's fate rests in its  _own_  hands!"

Rosch's ship, the Proudclad, began firing the lower level missiles first, forcing them to go on the defensive. Protect wasn't hard to get on now that over half of them knew the spell and were branching out into new roles with their training that had been done on Pulse.

"Rosch, we can't keep  _fighting_  like this!" Charon shouted. "We need to work together if  _anyone_  in Eden is going to survive this! All of  _Cocoon_  is at risk right now!"

"I will listen to no traitors about what is  _right_  for Cocoon!"

The numerous plasma cannons hovered free from the Proudclad's main body and all moved to aim at him. He threw his Kozuka free to block the blasters, but the resulting explosion still sent him back.

Shu stood in front of him defensively, swatting away the blasters as they came in again. "There's no reasoning with him, Chare. I'm sorry, but we have no choice!"

Shu raised their large blade and ran forward, launching forward and slicing at the monster face on the front of the ship. The others began casting spells while those who were capable of the elemental strike abilities joined Shu up with the physical attacks. Charon sighed, raising his Wakizashi to join them.

"You'll go no further!"

Rosch's basters and cannons didn't relent, shooting a wide area so that most of the grounded fighters were caught in the attacks. The Proudclad aimed its blasters towards the physical attackers, but all it took was Hope and Vanille going Medic and releasing a whirlwind of Cura or Curaja spells and everyone was able to withstand the hits. Though the Proudclad was immune to all status ailments and halved all elements, it wasn't much of a challenge since chain resistance was below average.

By the time the Proudclad was staggered, Fang had gotten on Bravera and Faithra, focusing on being more offensive than defensive, and for good reason. The Proudclad hadn't shown any signs of being able to defend itself against stronger hits nor do more than what it was doing with its lasers and Laser Barrage. They pushed his stagger as far as they could before going all offensive with as many Commandos as possible with the other Ravagers continuing to build their chain even higher.

Though the Proudclad was resilient, withstanding their assault through the entire stagger, it wouldn't take much more to bring it down.

" _Breeching outer parameters! Limiters Deactivating!_ "

The Proudclad reared back, charging up energy as it flashed and began to glow with an orange aura. The entire ship repaired itself, casting Bravery, Haste, and Vigilance, the jets that held the Proudclad in the air flaring brightly. The Proudclad began using Retaliatory Strike, sending a more powerful and more frequent barrage of lasers down at the group with everything that it had, along with becoming less prone to flinching from the l'Cie attempts at attacking back to get some breathing room.

Hope and Vanille went to healing, but just as everything was healed up to full, a moment later they were all hit into dangerous health once more. It was a riskier battle now, forcing them to be more defensive, but with a few moments dedicated to Synergist action, they were able to Protectra themselves and get their own Vigilance to build up a second stagger while only needing one person to heal at any given time thanks to the power of Faithra and Cura being more than enough to keep everyone afloat.

The repairs of the Proudclad weren't enough to save it from the damage of a second stagger, and soon they had the ship making a worrying humming noise and spasming.

"Hold on," Charon announced. "We're not here to kill him. Bring it down too violently and it's one more potential ally lost to us."

" _That's all she can take!_ " a voice announced over the radio. " _Fall back!_ "

Rosch did so, if reluctantly, without argument. The Proudclad flipped up in the air and blasted away, deeper into the heart of Eden, forcing them to raise their arms to cover their eyes. Charon wondered if Rosch had set up some kind of base of operations, since otherwise the army would be in a chaotic free for all. There had to be some kind of safe zone, if not for the people, then for the soldiers. By the time the dust had settled from Rosch's quick retreat, he was far off and long gone, disappearing into the clouds above the city.

"I don't understand," Vanille said grimly. "We want the  _same thing!_  Why can't we just work  _together?_ "

"These people are  _so_  blinded by fear, they can't even  _imagine_  it," Fang stated bluntly. "Are we too late?"

"Not yet," Snow announced. "And we  _can't_  give up - no one else knows the truth. Am I right?"

Lightning nodded. "Only  _we_  know about the plan to destroy Cocoon."

" _And_  which fal'Cie is behind it," Hope added. "Barthandelus."

Fang punched her fist into her palm, looking forward into the battlefields of Eden. "Then what are we  _waitin'_ for?" She cracked her knuckles. "It's time for some  _payback_."

"Even  _if_  we manage to somehow save the city, we've got no plan on how to reveal the truth and fix the chain of command," Charon sighed. "The people are too wound up to listen to reason. Even if we save their asses, who's to say they'll even believe it? They'll say we're lying, give all the glory to a lunatic like Rosch just because he's in charge. What  _I_  don't understand is why Rosch is still putting up this little hunt for us. Killing  _us_  isn't gonna stop this invasion."

"It's just a means to an end for him, Chare," Shu explained. "He needs a clear goal,  _anything_  that can help him make sense of what's going on. He's lost hope.  _We_  need to give it back to him. We need to give it back to  _everybody_. At this point, there are no other answers out there. If we explain the story somehow, the public  _has_  to see that we're telling  _some_  truth! It's easy to spread lies when the danger is far away, only hearsay, but in this pandemonium, they  _have_  to open their eyes and face facts."

" _That's_  what I'm talking about," Sazh agreed eagerly. "Once everything's  _finally_  out in the open, people are gonna  _have_  to wake up from this nightmare!"

Lightning stepped forward, her hands on her hips. "Let's show 'em how  _human_  we still are."

"The road is broken down from here," Charon announced. "Can everyone reach that elevator over there?"

They were able to jump through to an elevator leading all the way down to the lower levels of the city. The elevator was at an angle, more like a ramp, and so it also took them a good distance inwards as well as downwards.

"Cocoon's our home," Lightning said. "This  _isn't_  gonna be the end of it."

"Cocoon is in  _our_  hands now," Hope muttered. "We've  _gotta_  save it!"

After a long ride down, the elevator ride finally came to an end.

"It's too quiet," Charon announced.

"Ooo, that's spooky," Shu muttered.

"Shu, with me. Everyone else, off the elevator. It could collapse at any moment with all the fighting going on out there."

They walked forward into the tight corridor that would lead to the outside once more, Charon floating ahead silently, weapon drawn, with Shu hovering behind them, clothes and hair floating with a gentle breeze.

Up ahead, the army was facing a Tyrant charging straight at them. Their normal guns weren't doing anything to it, and as the mechanical beast galloped forward faster than they could run, there were only a few moments before the platoon was trampled over. One of the soldiers aimed and fired an RPG, managing to hit the Tyrant dead on and sending shrapnel flying. The soldiers hesitantly dropped their stances and lowered their weapons, looking into the smoke.

Of course, that victory then left them completely exposed to the Adamanchelid that came through the smoke. The Adamanchelid was at least five times as big as a Tyrant and a wild creature rather than a mindless machine, and so the danger was instantly recognized by the commander of the platoon.

"Fall back! Suppressing fire!"

The platoon was already releasing a shower of bullets, but they had run out of RPGs - even if an RPG would do anything to an Adamanchelid beyond piss it off. Some were brave enough to attempt to face it, others were frozen in fear. Either way, they were trampled by the Adamanchelid's stomps, and a third of the platoon was wiped out in moments. The rest retreated back to the gate that separated sections of the city, forming a line as they fired while waiting for the gate to open. The heavy metal fell down and most of the soldiers instantly swarmed to get through as quickly as possible. One foolish man instead stepped  _forward_ with a battle cry, firing his weapon - no better than any of the other rifles his comrades were all using together - just a little longer than any of the rest of them.

"They're closing the gate! Disengage!"

He turned around and sprinted to join them, but he had underestimated his distance from the gateway and made it just in time for the gate to rise up from the ground and cut him off, the thick door impossible to stop once it had begun to close.

"Hey!  _Wait!_  Open up! Open up, let me in!"

He pounded on the door, but it locked into place. He turned to see the Adamanchelid approach with a roar, and Charon sighed.

"Humans are idiots."

"But at least they're cute," Shu piped up, moving to follow Charon out to intercept the Adamanchelid. "We've got an Adamanchelid, guys! Coast is pretty clear beyond that!"

The l'Cie rushed out behind Shu with their weapons drawn. Snow took note of the soldier behind them at the gate before they rushed into battle.

"Poor thing's lost and afraid," Shu whimpered.

"It's on a  _rampage_ , Shu," Charon hissed. "This is no time to be getting sentimental!"

"Says the one that wants us to keep Rosch alive!"

"He's the closest thing we have to a leader of the government right now. At the very least he's in charge of the military. We need him alive and we need him on our side."

"So I can't save a baby Tortoise who's lost and alone on a world they didn't ask to be brought to, but you can keep alive the guy that's made numerous attempts to kill us and is still  _trying_  to kill us?! How is that fair?!"

"It's not about fairness, Shu! The Adamanchelid doesn't know what it's doing! It can't be taught that there's no threat and we have no way to send it back home beyond flying it all the way to Pulse, and in case you weren't aware, that's not really an option for us!"

"What if we can get our hands on the transgates? We could send all of these creatures back where they came from, no harm, no foul!"

"Barthandelus most likely has control of the transgates right now. If we want to save your friends, we have to get to him first."

While they were arguing, the l'Cie were already at work fighting the Adamanchelid, hitting it with Deprotect, Deshell, and Curse while buffing themselves with Haste, Protectra, and Vigilance from the quick stomps. Anyone who could launch themselves off the ground did so, and recovering from things like Quake weren't a very big issue. With some fast Bravera spells, they made quick work of the creature to Shu's dismay.

By the time they were done, the soldier they had saved had regained enough of his senses to move, raising his gun towards them, though he was shaking violently. "L'Cie!"

Lightning and Fang instantly turned their weapons to face him, Hope taking a fighting stance a little slower, and Sazh and Vanille turned in surprise, not expecting to fight someone so scared and who they had just kinda saved. Snow held up his hands for the girls who were on guard.

"Easy now."

Charon nodded to the side and the elevator that they had just come from. "Regroup with your comrades, and don't do anything stupid if you want to survive."

The soldier hesitantly moved to the side, and after a moment of no one moving to stop him, he deemed that it was safe to flee.

Snow nodded and turned to lead the charge down the streets of Eden. "Let's go."

They had made it to what might be considered ground level of Eden - at least they weren't high above in the skyscrapers anymore. Now they were in the winding streets at the base of most of the buildings, where any of them could come crashing down and crush them.

"That's an encouraging thought," Shu muttered.

"Even  _I've_  never seen some of these monsters before," Fang said as they walked. "Do they have some other Ark we don't know about?"

"Could be that Barthandelus has been cooking up some new toys to play with during the years," Charon admitted. "The man's had  _centuries_  to plot for this. Anything to make sure the entire planet is thrown into confusion."

"In the military's eyes, we're just more monsters from the  _terrifying_  armies of Pulse," Lightning sighed.

"If we can make Barthandelus a common enemy instead of us l'Cie, we might be able to get the people and the military to band together," Sazh suggested.

"Any stability would be welcome," Hope admitted. "Our biggest problem then lies with how to get the message out."

"Saving the world might help a bit with that," Snow smirked.

"Then we'd better get going!" Vanille announced.

"Stay vigilant," Charon warned. "The lower levels will lead us to Edenhall, but we're more vulnerable to falling debris." Something went flying through the air and crashed into one of the nearby buildings, a ship taken down by flying Cie'th. "And there's gonna be a  _lot_  of flying debris."

"Noted," Lightning, muttered.

They headed out to first find a Humbaba facing off with some Guardian Corps troops. The roads were filled with wrecked vehicles blocking the way, forcing them to make multiple detours around them and over. About halfway down a road, there was a loud explosion from above and then a loud rumble. The distinct sound of rock and cement breaking filled the air and they looked around frantically for the source to find that a road above them was starting to fall.

"Out of the way!" Charon shouted.

He flew up to the road and pressed his hands against the bottom of it, bringing the large slab of concrete to a halt. The others rushed out of the way as he held the entire section of the road up, before there was another explosion further down the line and he was no longer holding the fulcrum of the tarmac in an ideal position. The road began to list to the side, pushing Charon down under as the other end broke off, already weakened from the former blast.

"Charon!"

The others had gotten clear, luckily, but Charon took a Humbaba or two down with him as the road broke in two from where he had been holding it and created a sort of ramp down to the roads below. Shu jumped down with the others following behind. Shu went around the side of the collapsed road, looking for where Charon had disappeared.

"Chare! Charon!"

"Get them clear!" Charon called back, his voice strained.

"What?  _You_  get clear, you idiot! It's about to fall!"

"Shu…sometimes I lose my faith in you. I weigh more than this entire thing! I'm  _fine!_ "

"In your true form! Not like  _this!_  You're condensed, idiot, or every step you took would be shaking the earth!"

"Just get them clear! There's another track below us and this one's collapsing under the strain of having double the weight on top!"

Shu looked over and saw Charon was right. There were three tiers of roadways, the top one having collapsed onto the middle one, and the distinct cracking sound of the middle layer proved Charon was right.

"Get the others to the bottom tier and get them clear!" Charon repeated.

Shu nodded, flying forward and grabbing the first two people they could grab. They took Hope and Vanille down first, then came back for Sazh and Snow. They dashed quickly to grab Lightning and Fang, who were already prepared since the middle tier was collapsing and they had no other safe way down. Shu dropped them on their feet just in time for the middle road's supports to crumble and the section of the roads came down, kicking up a wave of dust and debris and shaking the ground.

"Charon!"

Shu dashed over, punching through the rocks to break them up and searching where they estimated Charon had been.

"Chare! Chare, answer me!"

There was a muffled grunt and Shu dug faster, cutting their skin on the hard rock. They were one with living creatures and being trapped under tons of rocks and rubble was one of Shu's worst nightmares. Just the thought of Charon being under there - unable to breathe, unable to move, unable to call out for help - it scared Shu as though  _they_  were the one under there. In the end, Charon broke his way free all on his own with a grunt, pulling himself out and shaking off the dust and rocks from his hair.

"Charon!" Shu tackled him in a tight hug. "Don't ever do that again! You had me worried  _sick!_ "

Charon squirmed and grunted, breaking free of Shu's tight grip and grabbing their shoulders. "Shu. Shu! Come on, I'm fine. That was  _nothing_ , believe me. Barely even felt it. Hell, it was fun."

Shu's face scrunched up in anger and they whacked him on the arm. "It was  _fun_  getting crushed by tons of rocks, huh?"

"Yeah," he said with a straight face.

The  _nerve!_  The  _gall!_

"It was also  _fun_  to make me worry my head off for you?! To give me a heart attack that you were hurt?! With your claustrophobia, I imagined it was a nightmare down there!"

"For the last time, I'm  _not_  claustrophobic."

"Well  _I_  am! I hate it underground in tight spaces, unable to move, unable to feel the sun, unable to breathe, unable to call out for help, unable to reach my plants or my sister, unable to find any hope of escape, and-!"

"Whoa, whoa, Shu, calm down, Flower. Come here."

He pulled Shu into a hug, realizing this was about more than Shu's dramatic overprotectiveness. Shu was trembling without even realizing it, their breath was becoming hitched like they couldn't breathe.

"Shh. It's okay." He ran his hands through their hair, which seemed to work well in calming them. "You're okay, Shu.  _I'm_  okay. We're  _all_  okay. All right?"

Shu gripped him tightly and nodded, taking deep breaths as though they were breathing during a day with heavy winds, struggling to get air in without it feeling forced down their throat.

"I'm sorry," Shu muttered. "I don't know what…"

"Barthandelus had you for some time, yes? When he forced you to make that deal? But you didn't remember it, not until you died and Styx gave you your memories back."

Shu nodded into Charon's shoulder. "You mean…that was what he did? To get me to…"

"I couldn't say, but I think it's a contributing factor. You were pushed to your limits, Shu, put within your worst nightmare."

"I…I was all alone. I was trapped within the earth. There was no sunlight, no water, no plants, no animals. There was  _nothing_. I was so scared, I was so alone-"

"But you didn't give in, Flower. We  _know_  that. We know because he can't control you. He held everything you loved in the palm of his hands, but you wouldn't bow down to him. He placed you in a trap that terrified you beyond measure, yet you didn't plead for him to release you, you didn't agree to play his game just to save yourself. That's the difference between you and I. You're placed within the scariest scenario possible and you didn't give in. I did. That's why he could control me: because I gave him everything in order to save myself from the pain. But you? You resisted up until the very end."

"But he can still control me."

"He can  _disable_  you. There's a difference."

"How can we stop that?"

He shrugged. "I honestly don't know." He pulled back and held Shu by the shoulders. "But perhaps you just need to make a bond even stronger."

Shu put their hand across their chest. "I've already promised my heart to you. Is that strong enough?"

He cupped Shu's face gently. "I couldn't say. Only  _you_  can answer that, Flower."

Shu leaned in to capture his lips in a kiss. He tasted faintly of rocks and dirt, but Shu didn't care.

"Yeah, well I'd say you're more than enough," Shu muttered breathlessly.

"One can only hope."

"And  _two_  can do a little  _more_  than hope."

* * *

"My poor babies. Did the mean humans try and hurt you?"

"I think they'll be relatively safe here," Charon assured Shu. "This highway is huge, but they seem to be wise enough not to walk off the edge. The rubble's fallen in a way that pens them in away from the military and they're pretty protected from falling debris thanks to that bigger highway above."

"I  _guess_  it'll work as an Adamanchelid sanctuary."

They headed down a flight of stairs to another layer of the streets below where there was another Proto-Behemoth and some Sanctum Archangels guarding the gate to the next area. This time, the Proto-Behemoth managed to get up and stand up with its blade, bestowing Bravery, Haste, and Protect on itself. Now it could use Manadrive Ruingas in quick succession, it was fast with its swiping attacks, and its Sunder attack was devastating. On the bright side, its transformation couldn't heal it since apparently that was something that hadn't been replicated from the biological Behemoths.

Charon ended up dueling with the Proto-Behemoth, clashing sword-on-sword. He rolled to dodge a Sunder attack before charging up and bringing swinging his Wakizashi overhead and slicing the Proto-Behemoth in the face. He tossed one of his Kozuka and warped away before the Behemoth could swat at him before then embedding a fan of his knives into parts of the Proto-Behemoth's back. Of course this did little more than annoy the creature because it was mechanical and didn't have actual muscle and sinew to disturb, but Charon warped up to a Kozuka stuck in the Behemoth's shoulder and sliced down to cut through most of the Behemoth's arm. The Behemoth roared and shook him off, sending him falling backwards, and before he could catch himself with his flight powers the Behemoth whirled around with its sword to hit him dead on and send him flying into the ground a good distance away.

"Charon!" Shu called.

But Charon picked himself up with ease and charged back up again, raising his Wakizashi and chucking it over his head right into the Behemoth's head. Beyond flinching from the force of the blade's entry, the Proto-Behemoth was able to keep going, but Charon wasn't done. He body-slammed into the Behemoth, effectively taking it down with a hint of his true form's weight and then he drew his Zanmato, the blade practically singing as it cut through the air and then was set ablaze with its colorful orange, red, and purple flames. He brought it down and sliced clean through the Behemoth's torso, setting the mechanical monster on fire with the Zanmato flames as it dissolved away. Charon sheathed his Zanmato and gathered up his Kozuka that clanked onto the pavement once the Behemoth vanished.

He slipped his final Kozuka into his belt when his Wakizashi was suddenly jabbed at his face, narrowly stopping centimeters from his eye.

"You shouldn't be so reckless," Shu chided, flipping the blade in their hand to offer up the hilt.

Charon took it and sheathed his sword. "It's not reckless when you know you can take anything the thing can throw at you. It's called getting a good fight out of it."

Shu snorted in a cute way that made it hard to take them seriously. "You just like seeing me worry about you."

Charon booped them on the nose with his finger. "You think it's  _attractive_  when I show off in battle."

Shu's red face could've come from either anger or a blush. "I do  _not!_  You are a stupid stupid-head for being so careless! It's a miracle you're still in one piece right now."

He waved the remark off. "You also think it's attractive when I look beaten and battered, covered in soot and the remains of my enemies."

"Do  _not!_ " Shu gave a small smirk. "I think it's  _cute_."

"Not cute," Charon scowled.

Shu simply nodded as if they'd won the argument.

"Hey, lovebirds, get over here and see if you can get this door open!" Fang called.

Lightning sliced down a Sanctum Archangel with her gunblade and Sazh shot down another before they joined them. They walked past a defeated Humbaba corpse that must have been defeated by the Proto-Behemoth and the Sanctum soldiers, not that there weren't many casualties take on the military's side in that encounter as well.

"The Ramuh Interchange," Charon announced. "We've still got a short way to go. There's a park past this gate and then we should be headed for Edenhall."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Snow asked, pumping a fist.

On the other side of the gate was a closed off area with some civilians wandering about, muttering worriedly. There was a boy crying about wanting to go home, adults wondering if there was anywhere safe in Eden. They hid beside the buildings to hopefully avoid falling debris and monsters, but when even the buildings could come down on you, nowhere was  _truly_  safe, now was it?

The group hurried past to find that there was a complicated maze of paths for the parkway, and the first thing they encountered was a horde of Vampire Cie'th fighting some Sanctum soldiers.

"Looks like a  _great_  place for enemy ambushes," Fang muttered.

"Just wonderful," Charon sighed.

"It's dangerous to spread out," Hope warned.

"Which way is the way forward?" Vanille asked.

"Just follow the path, I guess?" Sazh suggested.

"The path  _has_  to lead forward somewhere," Lightning announced. "We move swiftly."

They made their way through the multiple circular areas making up the part, filled to the brim with Cie'th, Orobons, and Sanctum soldiers and their monsters, including the large Vernal Harvester that seemed to be an upgraded version of the Aster Protoflorian. It made They had to make their way past Adamantherons and Sanctum Inquisitrix ladies with their Bravera, Vigilance, Haste, and Veil, and their Somersault Kicks. They were pretty elite in the long run when it came to human soldiers, able to stand up to the group of l'Cie and even fal'Cie for a good deal and making a nuisance of themselves even if they were ultimately defeated.

"The gate to the area is right over there," Charon pointed.

"Oh, you mean right behind the Tyrant and the Vernal Harvester that are currently in the middle of doing battle?" Shu asked.

"Yes."

"Wanna crash that party?" Fang asked.

"I don't think we have much of a choice," Lightning muttered.

"So half go left and half go right?" Snow suggested.

"Guess that's as good a plan as any," Sazh sighed.

"I call the Harvester!" Shu volunteered.

"I get the Tyrant then," Charon said. "Choose your sides, physical attackers and magic casters split up!"

Sazh, Hope, and Fang charged in after Charon towards the Tyrant while Vanille, Lightning, and Snow hurried after Shu towards the Harvester. It was instantly a flurry of chaos, the two large machines more focused on each other than they were the sudden attacking group. The Tyrant was using Forge Blade while the Vernal Harvester went for an Efflorescence, spreading its petals from the flower on its back and spinning hem around in a storm. It luckily didn't aim at any of the l'Cie and therefore they didn't take as much damage as they would have, but they were still caught in the crossfire. The Tyrant's Centurion Blade was forged and began attacking the Harvester, which saved them a lot of trouble as the Harvester acted as a damage sponge. The Harvester used Exproofing: Lightning while Hope cast the respective protections and offensive elements to counter it. Thanks to the Preemptive on the two fighting machines, Charon's team quickly staggered the Tyrant and launched it into the air while Shu's team did the same with the Vernal Harvester. They got Deprotect and Deshell, the Harvester kept changing elements to fire then water then ice, and once the Tyrant was struck down, exploding into a ton of shrapnel, its Centurion Blade disappeared as well. Once the Tyrant was gone, the Harvester turned its attention on the l'Cie attackers. Lightning got launched up into the air and then smacked back down to the ground while Snow Steelguarded a missile launched from the petals of the Harvester, and then Hope and Fang were nearly taken out by an Efflorescence, but Shu sliced through the Harvester and turned its attention away, jumping up to land inside the Harvester's petals and stabbing their sword through it. The Harvester shrieked and writhed, but eventually it collapsed and faded away, leaving Shu to plop down to the ground below.

"That wasn't so bad," they said.

"Minus the minor nick here and there? No, it wasn't," Fang agreed.

"Always fun to crush your enemies," Charon said. "But now to this gate. It leads to Edenhall, but the defense system has activated to try and keep the monsters out. It can only be opened from the other side. I'll see if I can get past."

He floated up and hovered past the awnings above the park into the sky. Shu, meanwhile, went to examine the thick metal door sealing off the area to see if they could force it open somehow.

"So  _close_ ," Snow muttered.

"We can find another way in," Lightning announced.

"There's no  _time_  for that!"

Snow punched the metal door and suddenly there was a loud whirring from the door, causing Vanille and Hope to exclaim in surprise, the two of the plus Sazh and Shu holding their hands over their ears.

"I think you broke it," Shu announced.

Snow stepped back as the door mechanisms beneath him in the ground retracted and released their hold on the door. Everyone stepped back in awe as the door began to open, preparing their weapons for a fight.

"Here we go…" Snow muttered.

"Gate got ya beat?  _Hero?!_ " a familiar voice called.

"Pretty lame!" another voice agreed.

A hover-bike blasted through, Snow exclaiming as he ducked out of the way. The others scattered as a second came through behind the first, moving out into the park area where they could have the room to land, and the riders were fully revealed.

"Heya, Snow!" Maqui called with a wave from behind Gadot. "Where ya  _been?!_ "

"Hey!" Lebreau waved from behind Yuj.

Snow ran forward with a laugh of relief. "Guys!"

"Friends of yours?" Shu asked.

"NORA members," Charon recounted, flying through the gate after said members. "They were in Bodhum during the fireworks festival."

"Really?"

Charon crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "We were  _on top_  of the NORA house, Shu."

Yuj and Gadot brought their hover-bikes down, the jets retracting and the hum of the engines dying down.

"So Snow…you're a…Pulse l'Cie now, huh?" Yuj said.

The others shifted nervously behind him. Beyond Bartholomew, Hope's father, they hadn't yet encountered friendly people on Cocoon who they had once known personally before becoming l'Cie. Snow and the other members of NORA had been very close, the best of friends, willing to fight the good fight together. Now, Snow was supposed to be their enemy - that is,  _if_  they had been persuaded to believe of Pulse's monstrosity thanks to the current invasion.

Snow lowered his head with a small sigh before deciding there wasn't really any reason to hide it. He raised his head and held up his brand to show it off. "Yeah. Good times."

Yuj twisted off the bike's seat so that his legs hung on one side. "Then why didn't you  _tell_  us?" He jumped off the bike and stepped forward angrily. "Why the hell  _didn't_  you come and  _find_  us?!"

Snow was rendered speechless by the accusation.

"Yeah!" Lebreau continued, stepping forward to be beside Yuj. "We've been waiting."

"Us  _and_  the rest of the Purge fugitives," Maqui added, stepping up beside Lebreau with matching smiles between them.

Vanille broke out into giggles with relief as Hope chuckled in surprise, Sazh nodding beside him.

"Well, what do you know?" Charon muttered. "You're not so useless after all."

Shu clapped their hands together. "Wonderful! They survived!"

Gadot stepped forward at the end of the line beside Maqui. "But  _damn_ , those Pulse fal'Cie sure know how to pick 'em."

Before Snow could say anything, Lightning spoke up to his surprise. "Yeah. Out of all the idiots in the  _world_ , they choose  _this_  one."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Snow protested as his friends began to laugh. "Now wait just a minute here!  _I_  am your fearless  _leader!_  You're not supposed to laugh at the  _boss!_ "

They were interrupted by a loud roar from beyond the gate the NORA members had come through, everyone turning in surprise with their stoic faces replaced.

"Just like old times, huh Boss?" Gadot said with a smile.

"Don't you worry," Lebreau promised. "We'll take care of the civilians."

"And  _you_  concentrate on saving Cocoon," Maqui finished.

Hope stepped forward, spreading his arms. "We  _all_  will!  _Together!_ "

For a moment, the members of NORA only stared at him in surprise, recognizing him, probably as the kid that had stolen Gadot's bike and escaped to the Vestige back during the Purge. They hadn't known the growth that Hope had gone through, how mature and wise he had become, yet still lighthearted and warming when it was needed most.

Hope began to shift nervously under their silent gazes, dropping his arms with a bashful smile, but Snow gave him a reassuring hand. "Now, what's our motto?" he asked, pumping a fist.

"Fal'Cie are no match for NORA!" they cheered, raising their fists to pump the air all in their own excited or reserved ways.

The team said their goodbyes, waving and saluting to Snow as they remounted their hover-bikes and took off. Vanille and Shu waved their arms in the air as the four of them took off. While everyone else at least watched them take off, Snow put his back to them, simply raising his arm and holding up his hand. That may be the last time he would ever see Gadot, Yuj, Maqui, and Lebreau, and through everything that had happened, they were still his friends. It hurt almost too much to bear, knowing that he had people he was leaving behind, such loyal friends who were willing to do the right thing even when hell was coming down upon them.

With that final farewell, they passed into Leviathan Plaza, the final section of Eden that came before Edenhall. They were almost there - to Barthandelus, to Orphan, and to the end of their journey.


	44. Misjudged Benevolence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Is that glass?!" Fang called.
> 
> "Yes, yes it is!" Charon shouted.
> 
> The Adamantoise stepped across a giant glass pathway in the middle of Edenhall, possibly looking for a sanctuary of sorts, but instantly the glass began to crack, and with every step the Tortoise took, it was both putting more weight on the surface as well as hitting it with the hammer-like force of its footsteps.
> 
> "No! Wait!"
> 
> The glass shattered beneath the Adamantoise and it roared in protest as gravity pulled it down into the structural maze below Edenhall.
> 
> "No!" Shu exclaimed, kneeling beside the hole left by the shattered glass.
> 
> "We can't save it now," Charon announced, resting a hand on Shu's shoulder.
> 
> "I was gonna name him Sebastian!" Shu sobbed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been over a month since I posted in this story and I feel super bad for anyone that's trying to follow the story but I've been uber busy with finals and stuff. Things are finally cooling down, but I've got one more week of school which basically is just the end of the year stuff. I've got a grand total of two finals to take, four classes where I'm doing absolutely nothing (one of them being a class that I have such a high grade on and such a chill teacher that me and my friend are literally just going to flip coins to choose our answers on the final test), and two off hours during my day where there's nothing to do anyway so fanfiction!
> 
> We are so close to the end, my dudes! So close! I expect the biggest problem to be the final battle, which is gonna take some time to write. I had previously written this stuff out and I might have been able to use some of that old writing had the computer with the work on it hadn't completely crashed and I wasn't the idiot that didn't back it up. I'll hopefully be able to crank it out soon, but the interlude chapter while we get there is gonna be short and concise since there really isn't much to see in the long run.
> 
> Enjoy!

"Why are there  _two_  of them?!" Shu exclaimed. "The Juggernaut was bad enough!"

Velocycles whizzed past firing upon flying enemies, but soon enough all that was left of them were explosions. A Skytank came in fast from being flung away by some other fight, but jets on the side blasted as hard as they could and stabilized the ship, which quickly retreated upon being greeted by a pair of Humbaba Behemoths.

"What are you  _afraid_  of?" Fang asked. "We're  _l'Cie_  and  _fal'Cie_."

Shu sighed. "It's  _not_  about fear. It's a combination of annoyance and pity."

The two Humbaba Behemoths that launched off the stairs to the plaza in front of Edenhall got little more than a frown from the group.

"There are too many monsters~!" Shu whined.

"Well, I suppose this  _is_  an entire army of monsters meant to bring down Cocoon," Hope said.

"Sure, but that doesn't mean they have to be so  _rude_  about it."

"What constitutes ' _rude_ ' when it comes to invasion and genocide?" Fang asked, crossing her arms.

"Making a  _nuisance_  of yourself in the  _process!_ " Shu shouted, raising their large blade and striking down a Humbaba.

"Being annoying enough to get on  _Shu's_  nerves is an accomplishment," Charon muttered.

"Living  _through_  it is even  _more_  of an accomplishment," Sazh pointed out.

"Guess that means you deserve a trophy, Charon, eh?" Snow asked with his arms crossed and a smirk.

"I  _am_  the golden champion, it's true," he agreed.

They headed up the steps to be faced with one of the grandest buildings in Eden that at first glance looked to be some kind of museum.

"This is Edenhall," Charon announced. "The path to Eden and Orphan."

"And hopefully Barthandelus," Lightning finished.

"They paved us a red carpet!" Vanille exclaimed.

"Red  _tiles_ , but point stands," Shu agreed.

Indeed there was a path of red tiles leading from the steps to Edenhall, but the more impressive thing about their path wasn't beneath them but in the air  _around_  them. Floating through the air were little crystals. They almost seemed to appear out of thin air, float up, and disappear, reflecting light at just the right angle to make sure that it was impossible to tell where they came from and where they went. The group looked at them in awe. Shu poked one and it flashed before disappearing. Eden's glowing light could be seen above the Edenhall building, the crystals raining down almost as if to show that Eden was fading.

"What  _are_  these?" Shu wondered.

Hope attempted to close his hand around a crystal that floated into his hand, but it swept away like a feather before his fingers could close in around it. Lightning reached out for one but it blew just out of reach of her fingers, even soared  _through_  it. Vanille held her hands around a shard, managing to hold it in place by keeping her hands far enough away that it didn't zoom away.

"What  _is_  this stuff?" she asked.

"It's coming from all over the city," Charon noticed. He held his hand out as the crystal shards floated by. "It…it feels… _familiar_ …this power that I'm sensing from them."

"Yeah," Shu smiled. "It's nice. It tingles all over my body. Like when Charon kisses me."

Charon cleared his throat. "Not like  _that_. I meant that it's like when you were about to fade away when you'd been killed."

"You mean this is some kind of sign of death?" Hope followed.

Fang stepped forward and swiped her hand quickly, but the crystal still eluded her with a high-pitched whine. In fact,  _all_  of the floating shards appeared to be emitting a light ring. Through the flaming and smoking remains of Eden's structures, the shimmering hum almost brought the chaos to a quiet halt.

"It's like they're singing," Shu muttered. "They're singing a hymn of the goddess."

"Huh. Some sort of crystal?" Fang suggested.

"I don't like this," Sazh announced. "Is Cocoon falling apart  _already?_ "

"Could be," Charon admitted.

"Maybe Orphan's having trouble holding things together with all this fighting going on," Hope agreed.

" _The clamor of this conflict rouses the Maker_."

Barthandelus's voice rang out all around them, his power surrounding the plaza in front of Edenhall. Each of them looked in a different direction behind them, but Barthandelus's laugh seemed to come from everywhere.

"Yeah?" Sazh challenged. "Well, we're gonna stop this ruckus  _soon enough_."

Barthandelus's frown could be heard in his silence before his physical form appeared in front of Edenhall - between them and the entrance. He waved his staff forward as though to challenge them, as though to ask if they had truly considered their predicament.

"Can you halt the Cavalry's charge? Filled with  _righteousness_ , they will  _slaughter_  Orphan in the name of  _freedom_. Your  _only_  recourse will be to deliver them  _death_ , swift and certain."

Man, this guy liked to talk dramatically.

"No. Unlike you,  _they'll_  listen to  _reason_ ," Lightning said firmly, her weapon drawn.

Granted, she herself had doubts about if they would really be able to stop the Cavalry just by telling their story.

Barthandelus simply laughed. "We will  _see_  about  _that_. I shall savor the demise of Cocoon from atop the  _highest_  seat in  _all_  of Eden. You, too, should hurry along to the heart of our  _grand_  capital. Your loved ones miss you so."

Out of the corners of their eyes, they saw a second Barthandelus up in the air that drew their eyes, but upon looking up at him, the one that had been on the ground disappeared, as though he had always been up there in the first place.

"He teleports too much," Shu whined.

"Come, l'Cie. Fulfill your  _destiny!_ "

He turned and flew off deeper into Edenhall, disappearing in a flash of light.

"Your  _destiny_ …" Hope scoffed. "We'll decide our  _own_  destiny!"

"Right," Lightning agreed. "Over  _Barthandelus's_  dead body."

"Loving the enthusiasm," Charon muttered. "Let's get moving. We're running on borrowed time already."

"Uh…guys? Is that an Adamantoise?" Shu asked.

Sure enough, an Adamantoise was walking down the street towards Leviathan Plaza in front of Edenhall - right where they were standing.

"Better question," Charon said. "Is that Sai on its back?"

"Heeeeey!" Sai called, waving his arms from atop the Adamantoise shell.

"It appears so."

"Sai!" Shu called with a whine of confusion. "What are you  _doing_  up there?!"

"Rei, how do you stop this thing?" Sai called.

"Rei's here?"

She came from back on the Tortoise's shell, dressed now in her Pulsian hunter outfit, and hopped down to its head. After whispering some encouragement to it, the Adamantoise came to a stop. Sai put his arm over her shoulder and she wrapped an arm around his waist before they jumped and Rei hovered them down gently.

"Hey!"

"'Hey?' Don't you 'hey' me," Charon said. " _What_  are you  _doing_  here? We left you on Pulse so that you wouldn't be a threat. Barthandelus is  _here!_  We just saw him! He's headed to Eden right now as we speak!"

Rei frowned in such a gentle and guilty way that Charon could hardly be mad at her. It was a trait she shared with Shu that it was impossible to stay mad at them for long. "I'm sorry. It wasn't exactly our choice. Barthandelus used the 5th Ark in order to bring most of the mechanical monsters here, but he also had to extract some feral creatures from Pulse using Transgates. It appears that we were on the wrong Adamantoise at the wrong time. We've been rounding up all the creatures we can using our Adamantoise here. See?"

They looked over and saw that they had a following of creatures behind the Adamantoise, taking shelter from the explosions and all attackers that dared come near. There were even a couple of Adamanchelids in their posse, and some Behemoths - Behemoth Kings and Humbabas and the like.

"You saved all those babies!" Shu crooned before wrapping their sister in a tight embrace. "I love you  _so_ much!"

Rei laughed and ran her hand through Shu's hair. "The days without you were long, my little gem. I've missed having someone else who cares about feral creatures like us." She kissed them on the forehead. "Now, I will go around and get all the monsters I can besides the Cie'th. We'll stay far away from you while you-"

"Oh no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! Stop! Wait! Hey! Charon, stop it!"

"What, you mean  _without_  using my sword?! Yeah, easier said than done Sai!"

The Adamantoise footsteps thundered across the ground before the large beast's feet on pavement changed to the cracking sound of a much smoother, thinner, and less-supported surface.

"Is that glass?!" Fang called.

"Yes, yes it is!" Charon shouted.

The Adamantoise stepped across a giant glass pathway in the middle of Edenhall, possibly looking for a sanctuary of sorts, but instantly the glass began to crack, and with every step the Tortoise took, it was both putting more weight on the surface as well as hitting it with the hammer-like force of its footsteps.

"No! Wait!"

The glass shattered beneath the Adamantoise and it roared in protest as gravity pulled it down into the structural maze below Edenhall.

" _No!_ " Shu exclaimed, kneeling beside the hole left by the shattered glass.

"We can't save it now," Charon announced, resting a hand on Shu's shoulder.

"I was gonna name him Sebastian!" Shu sobbed.

"I've always wanted to name one Raegyn," Rei sulked.

"I'm sorry," Sai said gently. "We can hopefully save the rest of them by ending this conflict as soon as possible. If you can get Barthandelus and find a way to take control of the Transgates, we can send all of them back home before more of this happens."

Shu sniffled. "Yeah. Let's get him."

Sai stepped over and kneeled beside Shu, taking their hand. "Hey, come on. You're almost there. This is Edenhall. A hop, skip, and a jump and Barthandelus will believe he's gotten you right where he needs you - then you can kick his ass and take back this planet for the people."

Shu smiled and nodded. "Right!"

Charon gave a snort and averted his gaze as Sai then went to Rei and muttered something to her that brought a light smile to her face. Why was Sai so good at comforting people? He was just so… _human_ sometimes.

"Now we should get out of here," Rei announced. "Sai, let's-"

" _Edenhall lockdown sequence initiated. Emergency protocol engaged._ "

A large metal door came down from the ceiling, sliding down a track and then locking into place in front of the exit to Edenhall.

"What in the-?!"

"Incoming!" Lightning shouted.

Two Humbabas roared and charged in from either side, Sanctum Celebrants with their Bazookas and Sanctum Archangels converging among the confusion as they targeted anything that wasn't dressed in a Sanctum uniform - the monsters, Cavalry members, and the large group of l'Cie. The group split up instantly, everyone choosing a different target to attack. As Rei dodge-rolled to the left, her outfit shifted from her head downwards to her feet into her battle armor by the time she was upright again. She flicked her wrists and her two words flashed to life in her grip and she used her momentum from her roll to get a running start towards the Humbaba. She released a battle cry as she sliced through the Behemoth's side with one blade and stabbed it with her other, pulling it downwards and tearing through the flesh with a squish. The monster staggered back as Rei stepped forward to follow it and slice at it again, her blades a whirlwind of destruction that tore through the creature with ease. The Humbaba roared and began to glow, moving to stand on its two feet and draw its sword, but Rei jumped on top of it and raised her swords before plunging them down with a shout of rage. Ten new blades, a mix of gold and silver, flashed to life in the air around the Humbaba before shooting forward to impale the Behemoth from all angles. As Rei raised her weapons up and out, the other blades mimicked the motion and as she plunged her weapons back in, all of the other ones did the same, stabbing the Humbaba at least half a dozen times before it collapsed and Rei deemed it was dead.

"Rei!"

Sai ran over, looking winded even though he hadn't fought anything and had just been watching her amazingness. As Rei removed her weapons and sheathed them at her hips, her other blades floated up in the air around her as though standing sentry for if the Behemoth rose again - and considering it was now fading to dust particles that evaporated into the air, that wasn't likely. Normally everyone would be afraid to approach her while they could be shanked from every angle in the book all at once, but Sai ran right through the weapons and wrapped her in a tight embrace.

"Remind me never to make you angry," Sai said breathlessly.

She laughed and returned his hug, feeling his pounding heartbeat and his warm human-ness. She and Shu and even Charon had lower body temperatures than humans since they were technically living machines. It wasn't noticeable to most - their skin simply felt just a little cooler to the touch. But that fact left them able to enjoy the warmth of another living creature like a human, and Rei had been savoring every little touch she could get.

"What now?" Sazh asked.

Rei looked around and noticed everyone had finished off their respective enemies. And they were now all looking at her. Well, except for Shu and Charon, who were bickering over how Charon had stabbed the Humbaba through its weapon - nearly getting himself sliced up in the process.

"You were just trying to look cool and worry me to death again!" Shu accused.

"I'm  _fine_. Besides, you look adorable when you're worried about me unnecessarily."

Shu blushed with an indignant squeak. "You jerk! I worry because I  _care!_  How dare you take advantage of my love like that?!"

He leaned down and kissed them for a solid five seconds, long enough to erase everything that Shu had been thinking about a moment before. "I can't help it. You're the  _ultimate_  cinnamon roll, Flower."

Shu cleared their throat, still red as a Flan. "H-Hey! You can't get away with  _everything_  just by kissing me, Charon!"

Rei quickly released Sai as she felt a light knot of embarrassment form in her stomach. "I…we should find a way out," she announced.

"Edenhall is on lockdown," Charon said. "Getting out won't be easy. This place is built to take a nuclear blast when it's fortified."

"Barthandelus is forcing us to go with you," Sai figured. "We have to play out his little script, and he needs all of us to be there."

"What's a worst-case scenario if you're brought with us?" Lightning asked.

"I get taken over again by…that  _thing_  Barthandelus left inside me," Rei said. "If she takes over,  _everything_ could be jeopardized. If I get too close to Eden when that happens, I could destroy Cocoon without even needing any of your input."

"Could Barthandelus even order that?" Hope wondered. "He can't make l'Cie that can destroy Cocoon for him, like Raines said. Who's to say that it works any differently with how he controls Rei?"

"And don't you have that Avatar helping you stay who you are?" Vanille piped up. "You beat it, right? You beat back all the bad thoughts and Barthandelus's control over you."

Rei blinked in thought. "You have a point. But still. I don't like the risk."

"None of us do," Sazh said. "We've got a lot of people on the line. Then again, if we just leave you here, is that much better?"

"I wouldn't see why not," she admitted.

"I still feel like we're too close to turn back," Charon announced. "We're in Edenhall. Just a little further in and we'll reach Orphan. But Orphan is connected to all of the other fal'Cie on Cocoon; Orphan's an anomaly of a fal'Cie - he doesn't have a physical form, only a matrix in which he resides. I have to wonder how Barthandelus intends to get humans into the realm of the fal'Cie - I mean, you're l'Cie, yeah, but that doesn't change the fact that you're still mostly human. If he wants to get you to Orphan's core, where you are in the physical realm might not matter if he intends to put you inside the Cocoon fal'Cie matrix."

"Okay," Fang stated. "You have  _completely_  lost me."

He sighed. "Basically, it might not matter that we keep Rei and Sai here. Now that they're on Cocoon, they could be taken to Orphan by any of the Cocoon fal'Cie near it since all of them are connected to Orphan. By trapping Rei in Edenhall-"

"I'm too close to back out," Rei concluded. "By being on Cocoon itself I've been put too close."

"It may not be the case, but if there  _is_  some kind of portal to Orphan's matrix, it may already be too late."

"Whoa, wait a minute," Snow interrupted, putting a hand up as if to press pause on the situation. "Hold up. What's this about teleporting matrixes?"

"Wouldn't it be matrices?" Shu asked.

"If Barthandelus or Orphan or whoever can teleport, then why would he need to push us further into Edenhall?" Fang continued.

"There must be some condition that humans have to go through, while fal'Cie can just be taken if they're close enough," Charon guess. "Maybe there's a teleport for humans specifically. Either way, it means that Rei, as a fal'Cie, is more vulnerable than the rest of you."

"So why hasn't Rei been taken yet?" Sai wondered.

"He's giving us hope again." Charon's gaze hardened, his eyes almost onyx black. "He gives us all the hope that he can just to take it away. Even knowing his plan, we're left distressed and disorganized and confused about our next move. The closer to despair we become, the closer we come to fulfilling his stupid prophecy."

"So how about we just  _not_  go forward?" Vanille suggested.

"The Cavalry still poses a real threat, and we need to get to Barthandelus. I hate it, but he's backed us into a corner. We go forward and kicks his ass as fast as possible. Hopefully, no one gets possessed or hurt in the process, but it means we've gotta be quick."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Hope asked. He pointed to a heavy metal door similar to others around Eden. "Charon, can you get that door open?"

* * *

"Eden…why are you letting this  _happen?_ "

"This is the  _throne of Eden!_  Nothing can hurt us here!"

"You're as good as dead if you go out there."

"This is it. There's nowhere else to go…"

The group made their way down a long hallway, reflective amber marble floors beneath them, columns and the walls depicting lines of Cocoon script that swept past, a tall domed ceiling above them in the shape of an upside-down U with golden accents and large orbs for lights like chandeliers. The hallway curved to make a right turn before leading to a pair of large double doors.

"So  _this_  is what they wanted the Ark for," Fang said grimly as they walked. "Turning the streets of Cocoon into a battlefield."

"I'll admit that it's a smart plan," Charon said. "Making Cocoon even  _more_  fearful of Pulse by making it look like a Pulse invasion, making the Cavalry instill panic and disorder within the government - making the populace and the monsters tear this world apart all at once. It lures us here in an attempt to stop it and begins to make you lose hope that any of this can be fixed."

"Hey, don't be so negative," Rei scolded. "We'll figure things out. We  _have_  to. I don't care what it takes, I'm going to stop Barthandelus and save Cocoon one way or another."

Charon raised an eyebrow. "Such confidence. But is it enough, I wonder?"

She punched him in his arm. She found that he had more muscle than he assumed. He found that she hit a lot harder than he assumed.

"Don't start getting all superior. I can  _still_  kick your ass in a fight."

"I'd like to see you try."

"Let's survive this first, eh? We do and you and I can fight when we're at our best - no mind manipulation, no emotional issues, no exhaustion, no distractions. Just you and me, big brother."

He chuckled. "You're on."

"Seriously, they're  _both_  doing it now!" Shu hissed to Sai.

"Doing what?" he asked.

"They're  _both_  proposing to me! They're speaking like we're married! We're not married! We're not even  _engaged!_ "

"Well do you  _want_  to get married or not?"

"I never said that!"

"Never said what?"

Shu looked pensive as they replayed the last few seconds in their head. "The…the 'not' part. I never said I  _didn't_  want to, it's just they're being all…AARGH! None of you are helping me in this instance!"

Shu stormed ahead and opened the large doors. Rei and Charon shared a mutual giggle together like they were plotting teens and Sai just shook his head with a smile. The others caught up as they headed through, finding more of the crystal shards floating through the air. Rei held her hands out and hovered the shards above her palms, gathering them up.

"Etro's power…"

"What?" Charon asked.

"It's her divine will. Can't you feel it?"

"They're related to death, that's all I know."

Rei took a deep breath, her head held up to the sky. Sai couldn't help but stare at her delicate features - her smooth skin, her gentle smile as she relaxed, the way that her dimples formed even with only the slightest of smirks, the shape of her jaw that led up to where her hand was held behind her ears, the way the crystal shards floated up around her like she was the center of their attention. She was listening to their hum, that light ring as they sang a wistful tune.

Everyone else, meanwhile, looked around to the grand expanse that was Edenhall. The entire area was bathed in golden light, there was a skylight up above with crisscrossing beams to hold it up, down below there was a park with trees and grass growing naturally, and the path led them further to the right before turning and marching straight through the large oval-shaped room and deeper into the building still - almost as though the place they were in was some kind of temple with Eden inside the deeper buildings like a shrine. In fact, the building  _did_  look like a shrine, with a grand building with walls of glass and a roof above in inside of the outer area they were in which also had a roof.

"So  _this_  is the heart of Cocoon," Fang mused, crossing her arms.

"It's  _incredible!_ " Vanille exclaimed.

"That's where Eden sits," Hope recounted, "controlling all of the other Cocoon fal'Cie. It's  _also_  where we'll find Orphan, the battery that keeps Eden running."

"Good to know," Snow said dismissively. "So what's the plan?"

" _Your_  usual plan," Lightning announced. "Charge in through the front door. What else?"

The others shifted, wondering if she was serious, but Lightning had no smirk on her face as she turned to march forward.

"Right, the front - h- _hey!_ " Sazh began as she stormed away. "What're you - where you  _going?!_ " The others could only hum or laugh in amusement as Sazh sighed. "What is wr-?"

He scoffed and sighed, realizing that this was Lightning, there were  _many_  things wrong with her, and once she got going, there was little you could do to stop her.

"Still love that soldier," Rei muttered.

"Straight to the point," Sai agreed.

" _I_  appreciate that plan," Shu declared, raising their large sword with one hand and an innocent smile.

"Of course, Flower," Charon sighed, resisting the urge to kiss them again.

Was it  _normal_  to want to kiss Shu for everything they did? Like,  _everything?_

Sanctum troops began swarming in to block their path, rows of Sanctum Archangels lining up and taking aim while a Beta Behemoth appeared out of a Transgate - this one completely on the military's side.

"Right," Lightning muttered.

Sazh sauntered up beside her with a heavy sigh. "Right…" he sighed more reluctantly.

The Beta Behemoth charged, jumping over the rows of soldiers, but just before it would've pounced on the group of fugitives, it was suddenly intercepted by a purple mechanical arm that punched it back into the troops behind it, taking them all out. A Juggernaut came through a Transgate and then turned to face the group, effectively blocking their path forward. They had little time to exclaim in surprise as another Transgate opened behind them and a Tyrant emerged, shaking the ground as it clopped onto the scene.

"I hope that's our backup," Sazh muttered.

Lightning turned towards the Juggernaut and flicker her weapon. "Well, if it  _is_ , I don't think our 'backup' is happy to  _see_  us!"

Fang, Snow, and Vanille went to confront the Tyrant while Lightning, Hope, and Sazh faced the Juggernaut.

"Guess we're fighting," Hope muttered.

"Oh-ho, look at  _you!_ " Fang exclaimed with a smirk. "All big and tough, are we?"

"We'll see how long  _that_  lasts!" Snow agreed.

"Oh how lucky I am to once again be in the presence of a Tyrant…and another giant robot," Charon deadpanned.

"That's the spirit!" Shu cheered. "Let's do it!"

Seriously.  _Everything_.

"Shall we dance?" Rei hissed, drawing her blades and stepping forward to the Juggernaut. "I haven't had a good fight in a while now. Let's see what you got."

The Tyrant was the same story as ever and they'd already faced Juggernauts even before Rei and Sai had joined them. Now she sliced off the Juggernaut's arms as it tried to blow fire at her (Hope having cast Barfire to protect the others against that), sliced the Wrecking Ball in half when it tried to launch the thing at her, and then she ran underneath the chassis and drove her weapons up into its system. Sai threw a Thundaga that struck it like an actual lightning bolt from the heavens and Rei jumped upwards to literally tear the thing in half. Meanwhile, Shu parried the Tyrant's Centurion Blade hard enough to actually  _snap the weapon in half_ , allowing an opening for Charon to slice at the Tyrant's body. Thanks to the others staggering it, he launched it up into the air and then came down upon it with a hard blow that allowed his weapon to go clean through.

"Where was all that strength before?" Sai teased.

"Being fal'Cie does have its perks," Rei said simply. "We've got strength in here that you've probably never witnessed before. It just takes a little…competition for it to be invoked sometimes. Besides, I was still recovering from a few centuries in crystal stasis before, but now I'm pretty much all healed up. And Charon's now got access to his full power since he's no longer being oppressed by Barthandelus and has come to embrace his life - he's  _happy_  now, and so he's got access to a lot of power that he probably still needs to break in. And Shu's  _always_  been powerful. They're just the biggest cinnamon roll in existence. They're so adorable."

"Take  _that_ , you big metal horsy!" Shu exclaimed, smashing the remains of the Tyrant with their large weapon. "And  _that!_ "

"That's my little gem," Rei crooned.

"Destructively cute," Sai agreed carefully.

Charon interrupted Shu's mini rampage by pulling them into a harsh kiss that lasted only a few seconds but was enough to make Shu's knees weak.

"W-What was  _that_  for?"

" _Everything_ ," Charon grumbled, dead serious.

He almost sounded like he was sulking and was annoyed by the fact that every little thing Shu did made him want to kiss them, but at the same time he sounded like he was threatening anyone who would dare question him. It made Shu want to either collapse from embarrassment and flattery or kiss him into oblivion. They did neither and just stood there frozen like an idiot before Charon finally stepped away and Shu let out a breath they hadn't realized they'd been holding. Shu ran their hands through their hair trying to regain control of themself before realizing that they'd at one point during that interaction dropped their sword. They picked it up as gracefully as possible and bounded after Charon.

"Hey! Wait up!"

"They're so adorable," Rei smiled.

"Power couple of the century," Sai agreed in a mellow tone.

Lightning and the others were already dealing with the Sanctum Archangels and Sanctum Inquisitrix women that were blocking the path by the time the three fal'Cie and Sai caught up. Charon casually sauntered down a staircase while Shu had to slow from a sprint to carefully focus on the individual steps and resist the urge to just jump down and be by Charon's side again instantly. Sai and Rei headed down the steps calmly together, their steps unconsciously synchronized. From their location, the path to Eden was a straight shot forward, with a single staircase down and then two sets of staircases upwards.

"What strange architecture," Rei mused.

"It's pretty cool," Sai commented.

She smiled at him. "Yes, yes it is."

"Another squad," Lightning announced.

They looked to see that a short distance ahead, another squad of soldiers was indeed mulling about.

"Okay…" Hope muttered suspiciously. "What are they up to?"

A moment after the question was asked, there was a blinding flash of light that overtook the entire area. When the light faded, in place of the soldiers were monsters that looked to be Cie'th, although their crystal bodies were white (occasionally shimmering to be more of a water-like blue) and only had black crystal at their feet, their hands, and the top tips of their new forms.

" _Cie'th?_ " Lightning exclaimed.

" _All_  of them?!" Vanille exclaimed in horror as the army of shimmering Cie'th lumbered their way. "Just like that?!"

"Cocoon Cie'th," Rei said grimly. "Sacrifices. They weren't even given Focuses. With no Focus to complete, their souls are stripped from them at the instant of their transformation."

"Thus do the fal'Cie dispose of humans whose usefulness has ended," Charon sighed.

Shu's eyes widened as they looked close to tears. Charon took their hand, which they gripped tightly with gratitude.

Sazh sighed and put his hands to his hips. "A friendly reminder we're running on  _borrowed_  time."

The Sacrifices were tough, using Anathema attacks to inflict as many status effects as possible and then using Death. The more status ailments inflicted, the higher the chance that death causes an instant KO, and even if it didn't, it was a powerful magic spell in general. Vanille had access to the Death spell as well, while Snow had Sovereign Fist and Fang had Highwind - all big and powerful hits, especially on staggered enemies. By contrast, Lightning had Army of One, Sazh had Cold Blood, and Hope had Last Resort, which all hit for multiple attacks - Hope's being magic-based like Vanille's and all very damaging when it came to staggered opponents. Sai, meanwhile, had Ashes to Ashes as a multi-hit big move and Phoenix Strike as a single-hit move, and both could be used in that order should he be so inclined. He had Rei's power mixed in with his own, and so he became a formidable opponent.

After another encounter with a Vernal Harvester - which was made significantly easier thanks to the fact that a couple of Sacrifices were in the fray and taking all of the attention away from the group - they just had a couple more Sacrifices before they reached the open area in front of Edenhall's final building where the fal'Cie Eden and Orphan rested, or so they hoped.

"The Proudclad!" Shu exclaimed.

"That was Rosch's, wasn't it?" Sai asked.

"I thought he died," Rei said.

"Nah. He's l'Cie levels of bullet-proof apparently."

The Proudclad was surrounded by fallen Sacrifices and appeared to be damaged. A light wave of smoke was emerging from the machine and it was slumped over. It was almost too quiet there, neither opponents seeming to have come out the victor. There wasn't a human in sight, only Cie'th.

"It seems a big battle occurred here," Rei noted.

"Looks like no one was spared," Sazh agreed grimly.

Just as he said that, the Proudclad whirred to life and rose, stomping its large mechanical bug-like feet and stepping forward in challenge.

"He  _really_  wants us dead," Fang remarked.

The Proudclad planted its feet and opened up with a Muon Blaster, a large beam of energy that struck forward across the entire battlefield. As everyone recovered, healing and using Synergist abilities to protect themselves, the Proudclad kept on spamming the Muon Blaster as often as it could. The Proudclad was immune to any status effects, so the only plan after they were protected up was to go at it with Commandos and Ravagers. By then, anyone who couldn't help with the recovery effort was already working on the Proudclad's stagger. When it neared its stagger threshold, the Proudclad switched to Aerial Defense Mode, jumping and flipping into the air to take on its flying mantis form, eliminating the stagger gauge just as it was activated and using the Proudclad's flying blasters to attack instead.

"Okay  _that_  is just rude," Charon declared.

" _Charge 25%_ "

"That's probably not good," Shu added.

They healed up and got Bravera and Faithra on thanks to Fang learning some of the higher tier Synergist spells before working on another stagger - and this time they managed it without it being wiped away.

" _Charging 50%_ "

The Proudclad's cannons fought back with numerous blasts big and small, but they managed to do a great deal of damage to the ship. Even so, it was much more resilient than before. By the time the stagger ended and the crew got in a few Smite attacks, the Proudclad was over half dead. Of course, then Rosch pulled out a new upgrade.

" _Your tale ends here! Breeching outer parameters! Limiters Deactivated!_ "

This time, when the limiters deactivated, the Proudclad made instant repairs with far more health than it possibly could've needed and cast Bravery, Haste, Vigilance, Deprotect, and Deshell. It used Retaliatory Strike in return for the attacks it had been given with an even more powerful blast from the cannons that came thick and fast, and along with the other cannons all working together, the Proudclad had launched an all-out assault that nearly took down a good deal of the party, taking most of them by surprise at least.

" _Charging 90%_ "

Lightning attempted a Dispelga technique attack, but the Proudclad's new buffs and debuffs appeared permanent. They restored their own buffs and healed up again just as the Proudclad transformed.

" _Annihilation Mode!_ "

The Proudclad flipped and returned to its grounded beetle form which now used Muon Blaster, only a bit stronger than before but nothing they couldn't handle. Though some of them thought that the transfer to Annihilation Mode was what the Proudclad had been charging, they were sadly proven wrong when the Proudclad jumped up and began to float again, but rather than take up a fighting position, it hovered higher in the air and locked all of its blasters into position at once against the main hull. It unleashed Oneiric Maelstrom, sweeping a wave of all of the blasters going off at once across the battlefield. It was a meteor shower of pure destruction that threw most of them in the air. Fang, Snow, and Sai were able to block most of the hits thanks to them already being Sentinels, but when the Proudclad came back down it instantly continued its assault with a Muon Blaster to the face. Now its frequent Muon Blasters began to become a problem as they struggled to keep up with the healing while also going on the offense. The Proudclad was even able to simply step forward and stomp on anyone too close to it.

"Stand back!" Sai announced.

He and Rei lined up side by side before holding up their forearms and connecting the halves of their brand together. It flashed before releasing an oval black opal shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow. The two split apart, mirroring each other as they swung their weapons - one gold and one silver - to strike the opal and shatter it.

"Avatar!"

The ground beneath them shimmered as an Eidolon symbol formed around them and began to rise up. The Avatars were formed, not as tall as they had been in Oerba or else they wouldn't be able to fit on the platform beneath them. Plus, the Proudclad would just look puny in comparison.

"Let's go!" Rei ordered, pointing forward as the two large warriors stepped forward.

They each held out their hands as their swords formed from their auras and they attacked. The Proudclad's Muon Blaster knocked them back, but it was only a momentary setback. The Avatars hit hard and their size didn't slow them down in the slightest. They worked with Rei and Sai to attack with both physical might and spells. The Avatars threw out water-based spells which weren't a weakness to the Proudclad, but water and machines still didn't mix too well. By the time it was staggered, the Proudclad went into Aerial Defense Mode again, but Rei and Sai had their own transformation that needed to happen then or the Avatars would retreat.

"Gestalt! Let us in!"

Rei and Sai rose up as they were inserted into their respective Avatars and took control, Rei's Avatar expanding to have the silhouette of matching armor and forming her wing-blades behind her while Sai's Avatar morphed to have the silhouette of Guardian Corp armor.

" _Let's kick its ass,_ " Sai declared.

The two Avatars charged. Rei's wing-blades could now hold off the Proudclad's blaster attacks while Sai's Avatar now fought with much more practiced and coordinated fighting. He used his feet to kick and his elbows for jabs rather than when the Avatar had simply used its swords, while Rei could control her wing-blades and her quick regular attacks with the weapons in her hands at the same time. With the Proudclad also staggered, it didn't stand much of a chance.

" _Ready for this?_ " Rei asked.

" _Let's do it!_ "

Rei's Avatar jumped back and its upgrades disappeared before it spread its arms and morphed into a simple stream of water rather than taking the shape of a humanoid. The stream of water flew through the air in a snake of water, retreating away from the Proudclad before circling back around.

"Tsunami!"

The tidal wave swept past the Proudclad even though it was in the air and engulfed it in the destructive forces of the water attack. Sai's Avatar had mimicked the same transformation, but instead of making a U-turn away and then towards the Proudclad, it flew around the Proudclad during the Tsunami attack and began to circle it, bringing the waters of the Tsunami with it so that it began to spin around the Proudclad and keep the damage of the Tsunami going.

"Hurricane!"

The water began to rise and funnel upwards into a tornado of water that ripped the Proudclad apart before the water spout collapsed in on itself in an explosion of water. As they fell back to the ground, enough of the water formed into a torso and arm to catch Rei and Sai together before gently placing them down. The Avatar nodded to them as Rei and Sai waved before it dissolved into steam that dispersed into the air. The Proudclad didn't have as elegant of a landing. It crashed into the metal platform once again, not looking like it could be repaired like last time. The metal parts collapsed and disconnected, the machine crumped and steaming black smoke.

"That was pretty unnecessary, guys," Shu announced.

The others had been completely healed up, most smirking with exasperated looks.

Rei shrugged. "Let us have our fun."

"Water," Charon mused. "Huh. Just realized that means we basically have all the elements in Eidolons. Lightning and Odin are thunder-based, Snow and Shiva are ice-based, Sazh and Brynhildr are fire-based, Vanille and Hecatoncheir are earth-based, Fang and Bahamut are wind-based I guess, you guys and the Avatars are water-based."

"And Hope?" Shu asked.

"He and Alexander are…uh…"

"They don't need an element, silly," Vanille said. She pumped a fist. "They get things done non-elemental style with big powerful hits, strong both offensively and defensively. Sometimes it's better to not have elements weighing you down, you know? If anything, that means Hope's is the strongest of all of us. I mean, just look at Alexander."

Hope gave a light smile. "Thanks."

Snow clapped him on the back. "Well,  _I_  certainly wouldn't wanna get on your bad side, that's for sure."

" _Again_  you mean?" Sazh pointed out.

"Oh, getting on people's bad side seems to be a natural trait of yours," Charon muttered.

"That's for sure," Lightning agreed.

"Hey! I resent that. I have  _lots_  of friends."

Their moment was interrupted by the sound of coughing and hitched breaths of pain. They looked to see that Rosch had climbed free of the Proudclad, injured badly, and suddenly Sai felt really bad. All Rosch had wanted was to save his home and serve Cocoon - even if his methodology was a bit flawed. He was only fighting them because he needed  _someone_  to blame for this catastrophe, and he couldn't very well blame the fal'Cie since he didn't know any better. The world was falling apart and blaming l'Cie was the only thing he could do, taking them out feeling like his only hope of restoring order. It was a goal when the world had fallen into pure pandemonium, it was the only order he could find when the world had gone to hell. And now he was going to die when all he was was a victim of the fal'Cie's lies and manipulation.

Rosch stumbled forward, leaning against the Proudclad's remains with one hand and using his other to hold an injury on his side. He coughed up blood, struggling for air. He'd need to get some medical aid quickly, though there were unlikely to be many rescue teams when he'd put the military in a panic prioritizing the l'Cie hunt before helping the citizens.

"Rosch…it's  _over_ ," Lightning said gently.

"Stop all this senseless  _violence_ ," Charon urged. "We can't keep  _fighting_  each other if we want  _anyone_  on Cocoon to survive."

A stream of blood trickled from his forehead and down his face, just barely missing his left eye and streaming beside his nose. "What of my soldiers?" he wheezed.

Rei flinched and looked to the fallen Sacrifices. "They…"

Rosch lowered his head as blood dripped down his chin. "I see…"

"Why are you  _doing_  this, Rosch?" Sazh asked, stepping forward. "I mean, haven't you done enough?"

He leaned his back against the Proudclad, facing to the side and away from the group. " _Enough?_ " he scoffed. "Under fal'Cie orders, I've orchestrated  _mass murder_. All to answer the fears of a  _panicked populace_. For a people utterly dependent on the fal'Cie, it was the  _only_  solution I could offer. Even…if that solution was a  _farce_."

"Then…you  _knew_  the fal'Cie were  _using_  us?!" Hope demanded, suddenly angry.

Before all of this, Hope had been the one most affected by the brainwashing of the fal'Cie government, and it had taken the most for him to open his eyes and change his opinion. Fang, Vanille, Rei, and Shu were already enemies of Cocoon, being from Pulse; Sazh, Lightning, and Sai had been skeptical of the government, but so long as it didn't affect them they could swing either way and they were adults who had accepted the revelations in their own ways; Snow was already part of an anti-government group (or at least a little rebellious group) even before the Purge and the whole l'Cie incident; Charon had known Barthandelus up close and personal before this journey had begun. Hope was still a kid, a kid who was not only reliant upon his parents for most things, but easily subjugated by the government as well, believing that they were looking out for the people in everything they did. He felt the most betrayal when his world had been taken away from him, he was the one that had felt the most loss.

"I believed their rule was… _best_  for Cocoon's present and future prosperity," Rosch admitted. "But…it seems I… _misjudged_  their benevolence. If  _this_ …is my punishment…I accept it."

"So you're just gonna let everything go to hell, is that it?" Rei demanded.

"You've left the army in disarray, the populace isn't being protected at all, and now you're leaving  _everyone_ without a leader," Charon agreed.

Rosch looked up at them before lowering his head with a light scoff. "You're right. One thing remains."

He pushed himself forward to stand on his own two feet again. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his communicator, raising it up to his ear as he stood as straight as he could.

"This is…this is PSICOM Director Rosch. Attention all PSICOM and Guardian Corps units. Suspend l'Cie operations. I repeat,  _suspend_  l'Cie operations.  _All_  units…should focus their efforts on evacuating the civilian population. I do not issue this order as an absolute. You are free…to make the choice."

The comm fell from his hands and clattered on the ground, Rosch following behind it to his hands and knees a moment later. He coughed hard once more, choking up some more blood. The others exclaimed in surprise and Snow even made a moment to step forward.

"Rosch!"

"Go!" Rosch demanded. "You're here to save…Cocoon, aren't you? Or was  _that_ …a farce…as well?"

He heaved heavy, ragged breaths as he struggled to breathe. Snow hesitated for a moment before leading the charge forward. He paused beside Rosch, not taking his eyes off of Edenhall before him.

"Stay alive. We'll see you when it's over."

The others hesitantly made their way forward, unsure of whether to leave him behind or not. It took a bit of urging, but eventually, everyone followed after Snow.

Charon kneeled down beside Rosch. "You could still live through this. We can get you to a safe place."

He scoffed despite his heavy breathing. "There is nowhere safe left…General. The only hope…we have…is for you to end this conflict once and for all."

He reached to his hip and grabbed one of his bags that blended with his uniform so well that Charon had barely been able to notice it. He tossed it to Charon who caught it with surprise - he hadn't expected Rosch to have the strength.

"That has everything you need…for if you manage to save Cocoon," Rosch panted. "I've put my trust in too many corrupt fal'Cie, and now…now the everything I've hoped to protect is being destroyed. And yet here I am…putting my trust in one more. Don't…let me down."

"Rosch…"

"Please, General. Let me live my final moments as I've hoped to live my life: in the service of Cocoon."

Charon slowly stood and backed away, turning to follow the others.

"I remember…" Rosch muttered. Charon was unsure if Rosch meant for him to hear his words. "The first day I saw you. I wondered…why is he so sad when he has… _everything_  I've ever wanted? The Primarch's favor…the power to control Cocoon, the power to… _protect_  it. Now…I am not jealous of you. The burden upon your shoulders. I am not jealous of it at all."

Charon walked forward after the others, closing the doors to Edenhall behind him.

"Good luck," Rosch whispered, just as Charon closed the large metal doors.

He pressed his back against the closed doors. He'd heard the roar of Behemoth Kings approaching long ago, but Rosch had made his choice.

* * *

Rosch was left coughing up his own blood, waiting for the monsters to inevitably find him. He almost felt a hint of honor that it was two Behemoth Kings that he would take with him as they roared and stomped in his direction.

"I'll trust in your humanity, l'Cie…and fal'Cie alike. The fate of Cocoon…is in your hands."

He pulled out an explosive, a grenade strong enough to take out some of the biggest monsters and machines that the Sanctum had invented. The two Behemoth Kings lumbered forward as Rosch pulled himself to his feet one last time.

"This is my end…the end which I have  _chosen!_ "

The Behemoths charged forward. One reared back its clawed front leg to swipe at Rosch who raised his hand with the weapon, his thumb primed on the trigger. With a final smirk, he pushed the button.

* * *

The explosion shook the building, the blinding light from it could be seen through the windows and the fancy architecture of the door to Edenhall. Luckily the doors were thick and protected against the blast. Charon lowered his head as he pressed his back against those doors and made sure they didn't blow open.

Everyone who had been trekking forward came to a shocked halt. Snow and Lightning froze but didn't look back. Hope, Sazh, and Fang turned to look at the door grimly. Vanille surged forward but Fang held out her arm to stop her, shaking her head before turning around and proceeding forward. Shu lowered their head as Rei wrapped her arm around them in a hug.

"You okay?" Sai asked.

Charon looked up to find the l'Cie standing in front of him.

"Fine," Charon said.

He realized he still had the bag Rosch gave him in his hand. He pulled the flap on top over and reached in to find a handset. The phone unlocked instantly with facial recognition, displaying his name at the corner of the screen and welcoming him.

"Sneaky bastard," Charon muttered.

"What is it?" Sai asked.

Charon handed him the bag for him to look at the rest of its contents while Charon surfed through the phone's data. "Rosch didn't lock me out of the system for a reason - it wasn't just an accident in the panic of the war out there. He's given me full authority over the military again and entrusting me with control over the entire government to help pick up the pieces should Cocoon survive this."

"Then we'd better not let him down," Sai said, handing the bag back to Charon.

"No. We'd better not."

Charon joined the others as they walked to the elevator. It instantly beeped and allowed them access, taking them downwards into the depths. They came out into a grand hall right in front of a staircase up into their final destination.

"Welcome to the Edenhall Reliquary," Charon announced.

The marble floors were shiny, reflecting the soft orange light that came from outside all around the area. The group walked up the stairs. The area looked to resemble some kind of church with enormous long, thin, windows reaching up to a pointed dome at the top. Pillars held up some kind of framework that circled the circular room and followed the windows up.

"So…Eden's supposed to be here?" Rei asked.

It was eerily quiet, so her voice sounded very loud when it really wasn't.

"Yeah. Though I've never seen it myself," Charon said.

" _What?_ " Shu exclaimed. "600 years and you've  _never_  seen Eden in person?!"

"Give me a break, I wasn't very interested in the darn thing. Barthandelus always communicated to Eden telepathically since he's a Cocoon fal'Cie and can, therefore, connect to Eden just like all the others."

"Where's the Cavalry?" Vanille realized.

They all looked to her a moment before realizing she was right. The Cavalry supposedly made it to Eden in search of Orphan - that was the whole reason that they'd come. The Pulsian crew had come to stop them.

"If they made it  _this_  far, we'll see 'em soon enough," Fang announced.

She nodded forward as Sacrifices began lumbering out of the woodworks, picking themselves up since some of them were just lying on the floor. They came around the podium in the center of the room, emerging from behind pillars and the other architecture of the room.

"Not them too…" Snow muttered. "They're all Cie'th!"

A rumbling took their attention as large statues placed at three equidistant locations in the room began to hum with power and glow as the entire room began to shake. The statues depicted thee identical figures: women in dresses holding up staffs with both hands up in front of them, looking up to the sky as though beseeching some kind of deity above. On their backs were circular metal rings with wing-like metal parts jutting out behind them. With the light of the day behind them, they looked angelic.

"Eden's servants!" Charon announced. "This is…oh,  _shit!_ "

"What?!" Shu screamed.

"This entire building doesn't  _house_  Eden! It  _is_  Eden!"

The large glass windows all shattered, causing Vanille to exclaim loudly in surprise. The orange glow from outside intensified, reflecting off the marble floor and glowing so bright that everyone was blinded. Shu, Rei, and Charon held their ears, but the sound of Barthandelus's voice flood through the area, heard only by fal'Cie.

" _Eden of Cocoon, I give you one final order: guide the steps of the cursed l'Cie. Bring them to the one who dreams of death. Bring them to Orphan's Cradle._ "

As the light finally faded, they found that the floor of the room had been moved to a new location, pillars cut off, the ceiling and walls completely gone. The three statues of Eden's servants hovered backwards beneath the arches they had emerged from before flashing and disappearing. Beyond the third archway, a new path was created from pink platforms. There were straight paths made from pink bits and hexagonal platforms that fit together to create larger areas and/or moving platforms like elevators. Around the broken remains of Edenhall, they appeared to be inside of some kind of tunnel, white and pink metal and data streaming past coming from an enormous circular portal of sorts that took up the entire area. It looked like some kind of space station or satellite with how there were numerous branches of metal stretching out with circular bits spinning and whirring all around. The large circular portal had swirling pink and black imagery, swirling almost like a black hole that sucked in everything that came too close. Another one was behind them at the opposite end of the tunnel, looking much the same.

"This is Orphan's Cradle," Charon exclaimed.

"What's that mean?" Shu asked.

"This is basically a physical plane of existence for a data-network connecting Orphan to Eden and to all of the other fal'Cie on Cocoon. Think of it like we're inside a computer, a space in the electronic network where we can physically exist, and where Orphan can connect to any fal'Cie on Cocoon anywhere they are. The Cavalry would've never been able to make it to this place unless Eden allowed it. This place was specifically made for humans to be able to traverse - or in this case, l'Cie. The platforms, the space itself inside this cylinder."

"We've been played for fools," Rei sighed. "Barthandelus's chaos out there on Cocoon couldn't be ignored, but what he really needed was to draw us back to Cocoon so that he could take us here to where Orphan resides. Build this place for us so we can make our way through the data field and to the heart of it all: Orphan."

"Barthandelus must also be here then," Sai announced. "He's goading us to fight Orphan, but we'll go and beat  _his_  ass instead and hopefully end all of this havoc."

"This is it," Lightning announced. "A lot of dreams died to get us here, and we  _can't_  let it be for nothing."

"You said it," Sazh agreed. "It's not just  _our_  future we're fighting for."

"We'll do it for  _everyone_ ," Hope nodded. "Fal'Cie rule ends here."

"Dysley! We're coming for you!" Snow shouted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo! We've caught up to where I am on Fanfic. I'm gonna be posting other stories, but since my Hidden Origins story was the most straightforward, I figured I'd transfer it first. I don't know how many more chapters there'll be, but I'm guessing around three.


	45. Paved With Good Intentions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You love him." She felt her body trembling as the words echoed in her head. "You love him. You love him. Youlovehim. Youlovehim. Youlovehimyoulovehimlovehim-"
> 
> "And it shall be your downfall."
> 
> "I kept my vow," she whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The path their taking, friends. It is *insert chapter title*
> 
> We approach the end! It's so exciting! Yay!
> 
> The next chapter is gonna be so hard to write because there's so much I gotta pack into it and I'm also at literally the same place in my Shadows Consume story - the ending big dramatic fight scene - and so I'm just overwhelmed being like "I GOTTA ADD IN THIS IMPORTANT THING OH MY GODS" so yeah. I want to update quickly, I'm trying so hard, I swear.
> 
> Enjoy me torturing my characters in the mean time because it's what drives my muse. (There might be something wrong with me…)
> 
> I admit, I was listening to Ruelle's "Downfall" while writing this. You should too.
> 
> :)

"It hurts, seeing Cie'th. I don't want anyone else ending up like that."

"All we can do is end their pain through death."

"Are we sure this is safe?" Shu asked.

They were standing next to the platform leading forward, which was hovering there with no indication of what was holding it in place. They poked it carefully with their foot, but it seemed to be rooted in place.

"Shu, you  _do_  realize that you can fly, right?" Charon pointed out.

"I  _know!_  But what if it moves or tips over or-?"

"Then I'll catch you. Come on."

Charon hopped up onto the platform that went up into a ramp and made his way forward. With a shrug, the others followed him and Shu sighed before jumping onto the platform and hurrying to catch up. At the top of the ramp, four square platforms lined up which branched off into three different paths, the one forward being another ramp downwards, but they seemingly led to nowhere.

Then, in the air above them, one of Eden's servants appeared. Instead of a statue, the large golden creature was animated. A disk on its back had 7 blue holographic spikes that spun around it as it waved its staff. The head of the staff flashed with energy as the entire fal'Cie glowed. To their left, another of Eden's servants appeared, this one identical to the first but silver. Beside it, a third one emerged, dark purple to the point of being near black. It flew over to be at the group's right. The three servants of Eden now surrounded them, each one at the end of a pathway.

They flicked their staffs and portals that appeared the same as the disks on their backs appeared. In the center of the disks were two different images. The white and dark purple servants flew off in different directions while the golden one disappeared in a flash, leaving a portal with its color patterns in the forward path, but the image was blackened, the portal inactive.

Vanille looked in the direction of the portal the white servant had left. "That…that looks like a gate to Gran Pulse!"

"And that one leads back to Eden," Sai said, pointing to the second gate that the purple servant had left.

"A last 'gift' from Barthandelus?" Hope guessed.

"He's offering a chance to run away, to leave?" Shu asked.

"We can leave, sure, but Cocoon's still in danger, and if we leave Barthandelus, he can just try this all over again with some new innocents," Charon pointed out.

"He's offering a chance to go and get stronger," Rei explained. "Pulse  _is_  considered Hell to Cocoon people, right? It's a war-ground there for survival. It'll toughen you up if you ever feel like you're getting rusty."

"And Eden's in chaos that we can't fix on our own."

A loud rumble got their attention as some of the moving blocks and platforms all shot towards their stationary area and connected to it from the other end of the remains of Edenhall, creating a large maze of areas. The white servant returned, hovering over to a platform near the newly created area as though waiting to see if they were take up its challenge.

"Uh, if we're gonna run away, now's our chance," Sazh announced.

"So, guys," Snow said, punching his fist into his hand. "Which way we going?"

"If we want to get to Barthandelus, I assume that the black portal is the way to go," Rei said.

"In which case, we need to play along with Eden's servants if we want that portal opened," Charon surmised with a sigh.

"So…we have to go through that maze or whatever to get to it?" Vanille asked.

"Yeah, and it seems to be crawling with nasties," Sazh announced.

Indeed the platforms had many enemies, most of which were familiar. There were mechanical enemies like the Aquila Velocycles with their Plasma Cannons, there was a Megrim Thresher - which was basically a new and improved version of the Midlight Reaper and which had a powerful cannon blast that knocked everyone off their feet and a powerful Fusillade Gatling gun. Beyond that there were just more Sacrifices, which they had already become familiar with.

They made it to the white Eden servant, which waved its staff and summoned over an elevator platform on either side, leading into the maze of platforms once more. The only new enemies in this section were Dagonites, which were sahagin creatures that had the whole Power Spritz thing where they gave themselves Haste, Veil, Vigilance, and Enwater. Their Water spells could cast Daze, Slow, and Curse, which was never fun, but in return they weren't that strong in terms of health. They had Rush attacks that could throw anyone in their path to the ground, but again, not too damaging.

"Remind me of the plan here," Shu sighed.

"We go kick Barthandelus's ass, then we go home," Charon said.

"Yeah, sure, but what  _then?_  Cocoon's in disarray, there are no more leaders, the public's probably inconsolable, and what if we mess up and Orphan dies?! And what about Eden and the other fal'Cie? Will they try and continue Barthandelus's work?"

"There's a ton of work to be done, but I'm sure we can do it."

"You've been made the new leader of Cocoon, right? I have no doubt about it."

"I don't wanna become the next Barthandelus. After this whole incident, I'm not sure the human population will trust fal'Cie, but lying about being human while leading them is just…unethical."

Shu took his hand. "Chare, just because the people hate you doesn't mean that you should give up on them. That's a lesson that  _all_  of us have had to learn during this whole ordeal. Maybe we'll have to…withhold some information about us to get the population on our side during this time of chaos when the humans need a leader, but once things have calmed down, we can admit who we are and step down willingly. They'll decide if our actions are enough to redeem us, even if we are…well, fal'Cie."

He sighed. "Well, we  _are_  special, aren't we? All of the other fal'Cie aren't like us; they don't care about humans. They don't  _act_  human like we do."

"And they're lamer because of it. Have we not established this already? We'll figure things out, and we're gonna do it together, no matter what it takes."

"Hey, looks like we can get to that giant…uh,  _fal'Cie?_  Whatever, we can get to it through here!" Snow called.

They made their way down the makeshift paths and to the ramp leading down to the platform in front of the Eden servant, made up of three of the hexagonal platforms.

"So…what are we supposed to do?" Sazh asked.

"How about we ask  _it_ ," Rei suggested.

She walked up to the statue and stared at it, engaging in a mental conversation, before the holographic spikes around the wheel at the back of the servant began to spin as it flew backwards and away. The servant waved its staff, the spikes began to shimmer, and with a large flash the fal'Cie Carbuncle appeared hovering in the air. The two-headed fal'Cie began to glow with a bright orange aura and all of the platforms began to move, rearranging themselves into a new formation. The Eden servant relocated to a place down below with the platforms that the group was standing on now high in the air.

"What's Carbuncle doing here?" Hope wondered.

"This place is a physical manifestation of Eden's neural network," Charon reminded them. "Eden is connected to all of the other fal'Cie on Cocoon, and when it connects to them, they appear here. That's Carbuncle, yes, but it's not the physical body of Carbuncle, it's just the mental part that's connected to Eden. You got that?"

"Totally," Shu nodded. "Totally-ish."

"Totally-ish it is," Sai agreed, and Shu gave him a high-five.

"Aw, they're cute together," Rei crooned.

"Sure, I guess," Charon shrugged. "It's good to know they're getting along."

"So it would be  _bad_  if  _we_  didn't get along."

She gave a gentle smile. It was such an innocent and pleading smile that Charon didn't know how he or Sai would ever win anything against Shu and Rei. Those two could charm the whole world with a single look, and they didn't even seem to realize their power.

"Right.  _Do_  we get along?"

Her smile turned sadder, but only just slightly. "I'd like to hope so. Unfortunately we haven't gotten a lot of time to…but we should! We should…we should become friends if we get the chance."

"I'm fine with that. If you're willing to forgive me for all the…stuff."

"Of  _course_  I am, silly. I thought we'd established this a while ago."

He shrugged. "Well…can't be too sure."

There was a moment of silence between the two of them as they followed the group through the maze of platforms. Rei finally broke the silence.

"Hey, did you hear about the incident at the falafel stand?"

Charon tilted his head in confusion. "Huh?"

"A guy got in trouble and is now banned." She paused and took a moment to prepare herself as though she was planning on doing some kind of acting. "Because of the awful falafel, he became unlawfully awful," she recited in a serious tone that contradicted her smile which she failed to hide.

Charon was stunned to silence for a moment before he felt laughter swell up inside him. He ended up doubled over laughing and drawing the concerned gazes of their comrades. He had never laughed so hard before, not in a very,  _very_  long time, at least.

"Hey!  _Rei!_  Are you hitting on my man?!" Shu exclaimed.

She shrugged. "Only because you're hitting on mine."

Shu made a dramatic gasp. "How  _dare_  you?! Maybe I just love him too. We should all just have one big group!"

"That's called a  _harem_ , Shu," Rei sighed.

"Uh,  _no_ , thanks," Sai spoke up.

"Let's not," Charon agreed. "I like Rei and Sai, but not  _that_  much."

Sai elbowed him lightly. "Likewise, big guy."

"Well we're  _still_  gonna be together for eternity, no matter  _what_  happens. Got it? Meaning no going Cie'th on us from  _you_ , mister." Shu poked Sai accusingly in the chest. "Or the  _others_  for that matter."

"You think we can save them?" Charon asked.

"We'll figure something out," Rei said, her voice lighter than she had intended it to be.

They made their way down the maze, encountering more of the same monsters along with the Sanctum Templar. Not all of the platforms were connected, forcing them to do a lot of jumping from place to place in the maze.

"If Cocoon is destroyed, won't the fal'Cie be destroyed along with it?" Hope realized.

"Sure, but I think that's what they  _want_ ," Charon said.

"How so?" Lightning asked.

"Fal'Cie are built with certain purposes - the fal'Cie of Cocoon built to cater to the needs of the populace in order to make a fitting sacrifice, and the fal'Cie of Pulse all searching for a way to the Unseen Realm. Once that goal is accomplished, they won't care anymore what happens to themselves. If anything, they'll  _want_  to end their lives rather than be stuck existing with no further purpose."

"So  _they_  were just built to be sacrificed as well?" Sazh surmised. He sighed. "That's just sad."

"I have a feeling that after this battle, whether we fail or somehow succeed, fal'Cie are going to begin losing their purpose anyway," Rei said. "The Cocoon fal'Cie, anyway. Without Barthandelus around, even Eden and Orphan won't be able to command anything - they won't know how to go forward. Barthandelus planned this whole thing out, making Cocoon only in the hopes of destroying it. If we're successful-"

"Cocoon may still be in a pickle," Sai finished. "The fal'Cie are going to need a leader just like the humans are."

"Would Orphan even  _obey_  another leader?" Hope asked.

"What choice does he  _have?_ " Snow pointed out. "Barthandelus said that all the Cocoon fal'Cie are built to maintain Cocoon and that's why they couldn't destroy it. If Orphan wanted to sabotage Cocoon, he could've done it any time he wanted. If we don't kill it, he has to keep sustaining Cocoon whether he likes it or not."

"Likewise with Eden," Charon assumed. "So our only issue is Barthandelus driving this whole thing. Get him out of the way and we can start the path to repairing Cocoon - starting with clearing out Eden of monsters. If Barthandelus is stopped, we'll have to make the assumption that the attacks on Eden are no longer going to continue, and the only thing left are the monsters already there - a lot of them wandering around aimlessly, not really soldiers in a war or anything."

"After that comes the political aspect," Rei said. "That'll no doubt take time, but it'll be a lot easier once we get Bart out of the way."

"Agreed."

"So…all we have to do is follow the statues to get to Barthandelus, right?" Vanille asked.

"Seems that way," Fang agreed.

"Right! Then what are we waiting for?!"

She grabbed the nearest person - in this case, Hope - and skipped merrily forward as he had to jog to keep up with her pace. There was a chorus of sighs and smiles throughout the group as they moved to follow. The maze wasn't too complicated, but a couple of times they split up to see which way a path led and if it was possible to get to a location multiple ways.

"The search is over." "Bingo!" "Over there!"

They finally spotted the clear path over to the Eden servant and made their way up the ramp to the platforms in front of it.

"Okay, here we are," Rei muttered, holding her hand up to connect to the servant.

The white servant held its staff up in front of it to grasp it with both hands as the spikes on the disc behind it began to spin. It lowered its staff in front of its face as though striking the ground in front of it (if it had ground beneath it; it was floating). Everyone was taken by surprise as they were lifted up by an invisible force and then disappeared in a flash. The servant had taken them back to the original Edenhall cathedral, granted it appeared to be a level higher that had been made into some kind of battlefield.

Waiting for them were two creatures that resembled the Enlil and the Enki that Sai, Vanille, and Sazh had fought - Woodwraiths. One of them in particular was a little bigger than the other - the Jabberwocky, the yellow Woodwraith. It had to be 10 feet tall if you included the large horns on its back. The smaller Woodwraith was navy blue and only 5 to six feet tall - the Bandersnatch.

The Jabberwocky came in with a powerful widespread stomp, raising its body up to smash the nearest person and consequently anyone else that was too close. The Bandersnatch charged in to headbutt Fang while she and Vanille were getting on the second tier Synergist spells and Hope was getting Bar-spells ready. Lightning and Sazh were attempting to get any status effects to work while Snow went Sentinel to try and take some damage while the others prepared. Sai was healing using Cura spells because of the constant wide attacks while Rei and Charon teamed up attacking the Jabberwocky and Shu went for the Bandersnatch.

The Bandersnatch hit Shu with a Mucosphere that didn't appear to do anything beyond damage, and not a lot of it at that. Shu started hacking at the horn thingies, trying to get them out of the way so that they could attack the Bandersnatch's body properly, but it appeared to be immune to physical attacks - at least until it was staggered (or that was the hope). Rei and Charon, meanwhile, had to deal with the Jabberwocky's Breath of the Beast, which was far more powerful than the Mucosphere and covered a wide area that even hit the other l'Cie that were trying to stay out of the way and get their buffs and debuffs working. The Jabberwocky was so far immune to all magic and halving physical attacks, but it was weak to all of the elements and someone managed to hit it with Imperil. Rei began to cast spells and use elemental-strike abilities as a Ravager with Charon as a Commando hitting it hard with his Wakizashi and teleporting out of the way of attacks with his Kozuka. Someone managed to get on Deprotect, making Charon's job a little easier, and it was susceptible to Slow, Poison, Curse, and very rarely Fog.

While more of the l'Cie had to switch to Sentinels and Medics to heal from Breath of the Beast, the Bandersnatch began to use Nature's Blessing, which healed the Jabberwocky for a significant amount. In return, the Jabberwocky used Bounty of the Wood on Bandersnatch to heal  _it_  for  _way_  more than Nature's Blessing ever did. Lightning hit the Bandersnatch with Imperil and Deshell but found it was immune to Deprotect. The Bandersnatch halved all the elements rather than being weak to them like the Jabberwocky, but it was still susceptible to Imperil, Slow, Poison, Curse, and it had the same rare odds of Fog hitting that Jabberwocky did. Everyone went offensive, staggering the Bandersnatch while properly buffed, but it remained immune to physical attacks and resistant to magical attacks. Of course, being immune to physical attacks didn't mean that it couldn't be launched from an Aeroga spell from Hope, which appeared to be its weakness as some Ruin spells following the Aeroga resulted in the most damage they'd gotten in on it yet.

When the Jabberwocky was staggered, it was significantly easier to take down because it wasn't immune to physical attacks. It may have halved physical attacks, but that was compensated for with being susceptible to Deprotect. Just a round of attacks from the two fal'Cie during its stagger - launching it in the air in the process - and it was done for, despite the fact that its size would make you assume it was more difficult than its smaller counterpart. All they could do with the Bandersnatch was get its stagger gauge as high as possible with Deshell on the Bandersnatch and Faithra on the party to make as much damage as possible. Without the Jabberwocky, all of the hardest hitting moves and the mega healing move on the Bandersnatch were eliminated, so it was only a matter of time before it was down.

The Eden statue let out a high-pitched shimmering sound as the group was teleported back to the Tesseracts in Orphan's Cradle. No one seemed to be gravely injured and any problems could be healed with a few Cure spells.

"Meh. No big deal," Fang said.

"All right!" Shu exclaimed. "No problem!"

The Tesseracts appeared to have rebuilt themselves, shrinking down the maze to a single platform and ramp downwards. It didn't feel like they'd moved any further or closer to their destination, and who  _knew_  how long they needed to keep running around fighting monsters.

"Where's this end, I wonder?" Rei muttered.

"If there  _is_  an end, I can't see it," Sazh said.

"Almost an infinite number of monsters here," Charon sighed.

"Is that some kind of fal'Cie power of Eden's?" Sai asked.

He shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe nothing can actually die here; monsters just get temporarily displaced until they can be put in our path again so that we can fight."

"All part of the plan to make everyone stronger?" Shu asked.

"Pretty much."

Vanille lowered her head, clasping her hands together in front of her. "I can't  _do_  this. All these Cie'th were  _people_  once, like us."

"That's what Barthandelus is  _going_  for," Hope declared, drawing all eyes to him. "Don't you  _see?_  Make us feel  _guilty_ , lose  _faith_ …and the  _second_  we give up, it's Focus time."

"Wait till we're broken, then slip on the leash…" Snow muttered, his hands on his hips.

"Yeah, well, when you  _think_  about it…" Sazh said. "Having all this  _empathy?_  It puts us humans at a  _big_ disadvantage."

"Maybe," Lightning admitted, walking forward down the path determinedly. "But it's  _also_  what makes us  _dangerous_."

"I suppose that should be a message for the three of  _us_ ," Rei said. "Being a little more human than other fal'Cie leads to a lot of hurt." Shu and Charon glanced at each other before looking down like they'd been caught by their parents getting into trouble. " _But_ , if we use it correctly, we can be far  _stronger_  than our kind because of it."

Shu perked up and pumped a fist. "Right! Because we're badass butt-kickers!"

Charon sighed. "You know, after this is all over, I just want a few centuries of rest and relaxation. Six centuries of subjugation to a fal'Cie, probably another few centuries attempting to placate the  _human_ population, and who  _knows_  if we won't be lynched for being fal'Cie if we attempt to take control of the government."

Shu's face became slightly gentler before they shook it off and smiled. "We should move to a town like Bodhum, where there's a sunset  _every_  day. We can get a large greenhouse for my plants!"

"We should live  _with_  you guys," Sai suggested. "It'll save money on a place to stay."

"What would you do after this is all over?" Charon asked. "Back to the military?"

He shrugged. "If they'd let me. It's up to at least  _some_  of us to help rebuild the government, and I'd like to be a part of that."

"You think you'd be a leader?"

He shook his head. "Nah. At heart, I'm a soldier. I follow orders. I can handle  _myself_  with this whole l'Cie thing, but the entire  _population_  depending on my decisions? I don't think I could handle that kind of pressure."

Charon sighed. "I know what you mean."

"I think  _Hope_  would make a good leader," Rei volunteered.

"You think?" Hope asked.

"Yeah!" Vanille jumped in. "You taught me practically  _everything_  about Cocoon! You're the smartest person I know!"

Hope rubbed the back of his head with a bashful chuckle.

"You gotta admit, you  _are_  a smart kid for your age," Sazh smirked.

"You've gone through a lot, but I think you've made more progress than  _any_  of us throughout this whole thing," Snow agreed.

"You're probably more informed and more prepared than  _anyone_  of your age," Shu pointed out. "Think of it! The brownie points for saving the world could make you the next Primarch by the time you're Light's age." Shu jabbed a thumb towards the former soldier.

"He still needs to go to school to advance up there, Shu," Sai interjected. "And that takes time. Especially when we're rebuilding society, that could still be a while. No one else knows how amazing Hope is like we do."

"But they  _will_. We'll make sure of it!"

Sai chuckled and crossed his arms. "What methods do you suggest?"

As the spirits were raised thinking about a potential future, Fang stayed at the edge of the group, her back turned, her head down, and a hand on her hip.

"Fang?" Vanille called. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing." She raised her head, her back still turned, and cross her arms. "Just that time's running short."

Vanille walked back to join her as the others slowly began to move their conversation forward and down the path. "It's okay.  _My_  mind's made up this time." Fang looked at her curiously and Vanille smiled. "We'll just make… _Cocoon_  our home."

Fang couldn't help but smile back at Vanille. "Yeah. I guess we will."

* * *

The pathway came to an end, but coming to the rescue were the black and white Eden servants, floating above them before splitting off - the white one teleporting behind them up to where they'd come from to take them back to the central area, and the black one rising up to take center stage. It raised its staff as the holographic spikes hummed with energy, illuminated, and began to spin around the disk behind the servant. A large gateway fal'Cie flashed into existence, and the platforms came together to form a hexagon of hexagons made of hexagons that was the next maze they needed to get through, along with a path to where the fal'Cie was in the center. It was a snowflake of pathways, completely symmetrical, though some of the hexagons weren't connected to each other which required small jumps between them, but from above. This made the path to the other side rise a bit higher than the beginning point, but not by much. At the other end, the Eden servant awaited.

"Exciting, isn't it?" Fang muttered.

"Can't we just  _fly_  to the other end?" Shu whined.

"Each of us would have to carry two to three people, but sure," Charon said, and Shu drooped their head and whined again.

"Come on, little gem," Rei encouraged. "It's better than that time you got trapped in an Oretoise sanctuary. There was a super large one back before the Great War and Shu thought it'd be fun to go sightseeing inside."

"We didn't manage to make it out for  _hours_ ," Shu lamented. "It started getting dark! We barely made it out before it was pitch black!"

"Well there are a couple platforms above and below us," Charon observed. "You take top, I take bottom?"

"You said it, not me," Shu smirked before flying off.

"What's  _that_  mean?" Charon asked.

"Give it a moment," Sai muttered.

Charon blinked and looked to the side in thought before frowning. "Oh, ha, ha."

He dived off the platforms and headed to the lower levels.

"They're so nice together," Rei smiled.

Blocking the path to the fal'Cie in the center was an Immortal - a newly colored version of the Berserker with a little more gold, but still red-ish orange overall. It was a bit more powerful, but beyond having the idea of spinning around and swiping its tail out as an attack, it didn't have a lot of improvements. It still Forged the Centurion Blade, it used Electrocute rather than Pulsefire that the Tyrant used, but a stagger and a launch later and they were able to warp using the fal'Cie thing.

"What exactly is this fal'Cie supposed to  _do?_ " Sai asked.

"It's a  _gate_ , isn't it?" Snow asked.

"Yeah, but it's not exactly a  _normal_  gate," Rei said. "Since it's so bulky, it can teleport."

Sai reached out to touch it but let out a small shout of surprise as he was teleported along with it as it disappeared. Up above in the higher levels, the gate reappeared presumably with Sai in tow.

Shu was lying on the upper floor just relaxing at the alone time with no monsters, no l'Cie, no fal'Cie, no nothing. They were going to get up and rejoin the others eventually, probably when they'd made it to the next Eden servant, but then Shu was greeted to a surprised Sai appearing above them and plopping down right onto Shu. Sai was only a couple inches taller than Shu, so their relative sizes were about equal, but Sai wasn't exactly perfectly lined up when he fell on them, so Shu ended up with an elbow to the stomach and Sai completely draped across their body and one of their arms was pinned.

"Get  _off_  me!" Shu wailed, flailing to get free.

Sai rolled off of Shu and nearly went off the edge of the platform if Shu hadn't caught his hand. "Whoa!"

Shu pulled Sai back up without so much as a grunt and Sai remembered that Shu was stronger than they looked. "You touched the gate, didn't you?" Shu sighed.

"Maybe just a little," Sai admitted.

"Come on. Let's go scare Charon with it."

Shu stood and touched the gate and Sai felt the now familiar feeling of being teleported. "Wait, hold on a-!"

Charon felt the hum of teleportation in the air before he saw it. He'd gotten used to being ready for when Barthandelus teleported in on him, which was why he took a step back when Shu appeared in front of him, along with the fal'Cie gate at the end of the pathway. Shu was who he expected, Sai was not. The l'Cie ended up right next to Charon and fell on Charon's back, but unlike Shu, Charon had the reflexes to move his foot forward and catch himself before he fell on Shu as well.

"Welcome," Charon said flatly, shoving Sai off of him. "You find anything?"

"New equipment," Shu shrugged. "No biggie. You?"

"Elixir."

"Dibs!"

Shu snatched it up and put it in their pocket.

"Let's catch up with the others. They've nearly made it to the next servant."

Charon held his hand up to the fal'Cie gate and it activated once more.

"Oh god-!" Sai began before he was cut off by the abrupt teleport.

The gate took them down to one of the platforms near the end of the maze on the snowflake of paths.

Sai was beginning to get dizzy from all the teleporting, declaring, "I don't wanna teleport anymore."

"Get used to it," Charon warned. "This place isn't meant to be traversed by normal means. There'll be more teleporting in the future."

"Hopefully not too often in consecutive bursts."

"Whatever makes you happy."

They joined up with the other l'Cie and Rei gave Sai a light poke to the head for touching something he wasn't sure about.

"You were lucky it was just a teleport," Rei said.

"Yeah," Sai muttered. "Lucky."

Up the ramp to the next Eden servant, Charon addressed this one as it raised up and swung its staff horizontally. With the spinning of the spikes on its disk and a flash from the staff, they were teleported once again to Sai's disappointment. They were taken back to the arena in Edenhall to find a Wladislaus. Having already taken on Attacus the Soulless, they were more than prepared for the sword attacks and the Mounting Contempt. Before they knew it, they were being teleported back to the Tesseracts - which had rearranged once again. The path before them had changed, and now the dark purple servant passed the ball over to the golden servant, who flew over to the next area ahead of them and disappeared.

They headed forward to the next area where a large square space had been made out of the pink platforms. The moment they stepped into the large area, the golden servant appeared, teleporting up and waving its staff, its holographic spikes spinning, to have it flash and summon the fal'Cie Kujata - the powerplant fal'Cie from Euride Gorge. The servant flew up and disappeared, in turn bringing down, long, tall, straight pieces of metal just like what the rest of the Tesseracts was made out if. They fell around the square area to form walls around them, almost like a prison, with Kujata floating up in the center. There was a ramp to walk up to the top manually, but there was also a platform that they could walk onto that would bring them up on an elevator. Each side held monsters - more on the ramp since it was a longer trip. The Eden servant teleported to the top and then continued forward, showing that there was a path forward where they were to meet it.

"I think I'd strain my neck looking up at that," Fang admitted.

"Guess we'd better start climbing," Rei sighed.

On the way up there were Sanctum Templars and Wladislaus Cie'th, but nothing unmanageable. There was another Jabberwocky/Bandersnatch encounter, which made Shu begin to question why they had been taken to new places for them like boss battles when they were just random encounters.

"Do they  _really_  expect the learning curve to be so steep?"

"Well, they  _were_  no problem," Snow shrugged.

After a battle with three Sanctum Templars together, they made it to the final stretch towards the gold Eden servant. It flew up and raised its staff, teleporting them once again to the Edenhall arena. No enemy was awaiting them on the ground, but upon hearing a roar from above, they saw some kind of flying monster lowering down to their location.

"Is that the Proudclad?" Shu asked.

"No," Charon said. "That's the Tiamat Eliminator."

The Eliminator instantly opened up with a stream of Ice Grenades. With a Libra they quickly deduced it was immune to all status debuffs and halved all elements. Some of its Ice Grenades inflicted Slow, which in turn dispelled Haste when it was applied, which basically kept one of them on Haste duty at all times while the others went in for an offensive wave of Ravager spells and Commando attacking. The stagger came quickly, and with Bravera and the building chain, they were able to do far more damage than they'd expected to such a resilient opponent. By the end of the first stagger it was already half dead, and some Bravera spells had already worn off by then.

The Eliminator came down and flipped into its four-legged beetle mode in its Descent. For safety's sake they went more defensive and began casting buffs and healing, but the Eliminator's Laser Rain dispelled positive buffs. The Tiamat was fast about it too, so they had to give up on positive buffs for the moment and go on the offensive. Now that it was on the ground, however, it had lost more of its status immunities. They were quick to get on Deprotect, Deshell, Imperil, and Slow before they went to casting spells and building a chain again. Now that it was on the ground, they were able to launch it up in the air, which they did. With some people staying Ravagers to continue to build the chain, it was pretty much a slaughter at that point, and even without Bravery or Bravera, they did more than enough damage to finish it off.

Taken back to the Tesseracts, the golden servant faced them and raised its staff, presenting a new portal to them, leading to some kind of white space, but it wasn't murky and closed off like the one from before.

"There it is," Rei muttered. "The path to Orphan's Cradle."

"We made it?" Hope asked.

"Yup."

"Guess we'd better not screw this up then," Sazh muttered, the humor in his voice barely there.

"Brands all right?" Fang asked. "Don't you go turning Cie'th on me, ya hear? Not after we've come this far."

"Barthandelus is trying to use our fear against us," Sai said. "Just stay calm, and we'll be able to finish this. Once we do that, my fate won't matter to me. As long as we take out Barthandelus, we'll have saved our home. That's all that matters."

"But, you know, living through it is nice too," Snow admitted.

"Got that right," Charon said. "Don't you all go leaving us to fix the world alone. I'd rather have Hope as a leader than me, honestly. You'd do a much better job than me, being human and all. I'd rather not have  _any_ of you leave us. After all this, I'd cash in that miracle right about now."

"Me too, Charon," Shu sighed.

"Here we go," Rei announced, reaching out to touch the portal.

In one of the most dizzying transports ever, they found themselves in the white corridor that the portal had shown. It looked so fancy, with rows of white dots lighting the walls. The corridor split in two directions to make a square before leading to the next corridor. An Eden servant statue like the ones from Edenhall was mounted to each of the four walls of the centerpiece of the square room. The wings on the statues were shaped into the brand of Lindzei, Shu realized. On either side there were floating couches and tall windows that went from the ceiling to the floor. Outside the windows, there was nothing but blue sky. There was no ground insight. Shu wondered if they were in Eden, floating high above the rest of the world, in a place that humans couldn't see.

The next corridor led to another square room like the first, identical with the couches, the windows, and the centerpiece with the four statues. Beyond that was a corridor leading only to white light.

"The Narthex," Rei recited. "That's where it all ends. Barthandelus awaits us there."

"Can we take a break?" Shu asked. "Just for a few minutes. I know we're on a time limit, but-"

"We should gather our strength while we can," Lightning agreed. "Heal up, prepare your equipment, get yourself in a proper mental state for what's to come."

In essence, she was saying to say your goodbyes just in case.

* * *

"Have you ever been here before, Chare?" Shu asked.

"I've been in the entrance before, whenever Barthandelus came here for a visit, but no, I've never been fully into this place."

Shu sat down on one of the floating couches, careful to make sure that it could actually support their weight. "What'll happen after this?"

He stared out the window into the bright sky outside. "I don't know."

"Do you have a plan to save the others?"

"Honestly? Not at all. Not even a clue."

"Even for Sai? What about  _Rei?_ "

"I'm not  _happy_  to say that I don't know what to do, Shu!"

A few weeks ago, Shu might've flinched at the outburst. Instead, they remained quiet and calm. "I know. I know that feeling helpless is scary, Chare. I know you're so scared of it because you've lived a lifetime of it - no,  _more_  than a lifetime; more like a  _dozen_  lifetimes. I know you're trying, and I know you're hurting yourself worrying about all of us and Cocoon and everything else that's on your shoulders. I know you hate having a heart that just won't quit loving and hoping and torturing you with feelings. Maybe sometimes things get better, but a lot of the time, it hurts. I'm sorry about that."

"You have nothing to apologize for," he said almost instantly. "It's not your fault we were made this way."

"But it's my fault you have things to live for."

"That will  _never_  be something to apologize for." He moved to sit next to Shu and take their hand. "Yes, I'm afraid and I'm sometimes angry at the situation we've been put in and I don't know what the future holds. Yes to all of the stupid misfortune that comes from being the way we are. But I'm glad you saved me. I'm glad you showed me that I  _do_  have something to live for and fight for and…thank you for saving me from myself."

"You just hate the fact that you can't repay me by helping save everyone else. You're not weak for not knowing how to save them, Charon. I don't want you beating yourself up if and when we fail."

"Orphan is in there, Shu. That much I know. If Orphan is awoken and he attempts to fight us…I don't know if we can escape. It may come to a situation where it's either we kill Orphan or Orphan kills us. Or worse, tortures us until someone becomes Ragnarok - tortures  _you_  or Rei or Sai or  _any_  of them until I agree to make Ragnarok perfect."

"You won't, Charon. I know you'll never give in."

He gripped the handle of his Zanmato tightly. "If you're at their mercy…I don't know if I can say I'll do what I should. All I can say is I'll do what I have to."

"That's not good enough!" Shu jumped up from the couch. "You should be doing whatever you have to in order to do the right thing!"

"I can't promise that, Shu." He shook his head. "I can't promise I'll do the right thing. I can't promise I won't mess up."

"You don't  _need_  to. You just need to promise that you'll  _try_. Be true to yourself for once in your life, be your  _own_  master. If I have to order you to do it, then so be it. I will. But I know that it won't come to that. I know who you are. I've seen what you're capable of when you're happy. You won't let them push you around. And  _I_  won't let them  _use me_  to push you around either. Have a little faith in me, Chare-bear. I may be a cinnamon roll, but I'm far from helpless. I'm not some damsel who needs to be rescued by you every two seconds. Just promise me that you'll follow your heart no matter where it goes, no matter where it takes you."

He glanced over at Shu and smiled gently. He stood and stepped toward them and Shu's light smile slowly faded as they looked up at Charon. His eyes were  _really_  brown. For a moment, Shu couldn't guess what he was thinking.

"I promise that I'll follow you anywhere you go, no matter where it takes me."

* * *

"You ready for this?" Vanille asked.

Hope chuckled. "I'm not sure there  _is_  a proper way to be ready, but I'm doing my best."

Vanille bounced in her seat on the floating couch next to Hope. "Well  _I'm_  ready. We can beat Barthandelus, I  _know_  it!" She pumped a fist and leaned over to smile in Hope's line of sight. "Right?"

Hope chuckled. "Yeah. I'm just caught up thinking about what comes after. There's so much work to be done. We're going to have to bring together the military, bring together the people, work out what to do with the fal'Cie. We can rebuild society with so much potential once we enlighten everyone. We could move to Pulse now that we know that it's hospitable. There are  _millions_  of people on Cocoon, and if we can move people safely to Pulse, cultivate societies, research the ancient ruins of the past, we could make the world a place where we might not even  _need_  to rely on fal'Cie anymore. Humanity could be self-sustaining and expand to  _limitless_  possibilities. If we can find a way to safely lower Cocoon to Pulse, keeping Cocoon in the sky might not end up being a  _threat_  anymore. Barthandelus built Cocoon to threaten the entire human population, but we might be able to take apart the remnants of his plan even once he's gone so that no one could  _ever_  try to kill Orphan and finish what Barthandelus started."

Vanille smiled at Hope's enthusiasm, how he got completely lost in his thoughts and his hopes for the future. Back when she'd first met him, Hope had been terrified of Pulse and the idea that everything he'd ever known was a lie. He'd gone through so much in such a short amount of time, but in the end, he had always been this way. He had always been curious, willing to learn more, adapt to new situations, and he had the potential to become basically whatever he wanted. Vanille could understand why everyone had advocated for Hope to be a new leader of the people, despite being the youngest of the group. He had known more about the War of Transgression and all the new locations that Vanille had gone to like the Vile Peaks, he'd set a guessed date of the fallen cities of Pulse as about 600 years just from looking at the withered architecture, and Charon had  _confirmed_  it had been 600 years since the War of Transgression. Granted, maybe the war had been in the Cocoon history books and he'd cheated a bit, but Hope had taken the time to  _remember_  such facts. With his new knowledge of the government's lies and the truth of the worlds revealed to him, Hope had the potential to shape a new future.

Vanille herself knew she wanted to live on Cocoon in peace, without the threat of war or fal'Cie giving tasks to l'Cie, but she could never come up with the big and ambitious plans Hope could. She was still working on comprehending most of Cocoon already after so many centuries had passed and she had been lied to just like everyone else about the War of Transgression.

"Well,  _I_  think you're gonna be  _amazing_ ," Vanille admitted. Hope gave an embarrassed chuckle, but Vanille continued by taking his hand. "You're this world's best chance at coming together and fixing. And you'll have all of us beside you in the process. Right?"

Hope hesitated a moment and gave a bashful smile. "Yeah. I know we'll all be fine so long as we stick together."

"No matter what happens." She held up her pinky finger. "Besides, we still have  _so_  much more of Gran Pulse to discover together. And maybe you can show me around more of Cocoon - once we're not on the run anymore and can just have  _fun_. Nautilus was  _great_  before the army caught up and all. Maybe saving the world will get us a free pass."

He laughed. "That would be great."

"Well then, let's add it onto the deal then." She took his hand and linked their pinkies, and Hope shook it mutually. "Now you've got  _no_  excuse for failing, mister," she giggled. "You've got  _lots_  of promises to keep."

Hope nodded. "Right. We won't fail, no matter what. We'll save the world, and we'll do it together."

* * *

**_Day 11_ **

**_The Seaside City of Bodhum_ **

* * *

" _What can I give you?" Rei blurted._

_Sai looked to her in surprise. "Huh?"_

_He set down plates of food for each of them, fresh from NORA House. Lebreau was the best cook probably in the whole world, and it paid to have her as a friend that gave discounts and even free meals._

_"I need to repay you for your hospitality, but I don't have any of your Cocoon currency."_

_Sai stared at her and leaned against the table. "You don't need to pay me, Rei. Your company is more than enough."_

_"I know you said that but…" Rei looked down and wrung her hands together nervously. "It's just been bugging me. I don't like being unable to repay my debts and you…you've been so nice to me. You've offered me your home, a job, these excellent meals, your wisdom of this world. You've offered me sanctuary despite the risks, you've offered me kindness I wasn't aware even existed and I…I can't even begin to repay you."_

_"Well you repay me by being a good guest. You're not rude, you don't impose, you ask permission for things, you follow any orders I explicitly give you, and you're a pleasure to just be around."_

_"Still…"_

_He sighed. "Well, how about this? Just say that you owe me? We'll just put it on hold until I need something from you. It may be soon, it may be a little while off. Who knows? I'll just have the knowledge that the moment I want something from you, I'll be able to ask and receive it without protest."_

_She nodded. "Okay. Whatever you need, when you come up with it. Until then…I'll stay with you. No matter what. I'll…I'll keep you safe and make sure you can cash in that favor."_

_He chuckled. "You don't have to offer to keep me safe. That's practically the favor right there."_

_"Then consider it a part of the original deal! I owe you one unconditional favor, and I'll make sure that you're safe until you receive it. After all, I'd feel even_ worse _if I didn't have enough time to give you that favor in the first place. I'm making it a promise whether you like it or not - I_ will _make sure that we both survive long enough for me to pay you back. I'm_ going _to make sure that I repay you for everything, no ifs, ands, or buts about it."_

 _He smiled. "Okay then. You have a deal. Now that_ that's _settled, we should hurry and finish dinner. The fireworks show starts once the sun goes down."_

_"Are all these tourists coming here for the fireworks show?"_

_"Yup. But luckily, since we live in Bodhum, we'll get the best seats in the house here at the beach. Besides, we don't wanna let Lebreau's delicious meals go to waste."_

_"Does she have a name for this food? It's simply scrumptious."_

_"She plans on selling it in her café. She says it's going to just be called the NORA Special."_

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay with going forward?" Sai asked.

"I can't exactly go backwards," Rei shrugged. "This whole thing was engineered so that I'm there, during the final act. Don't be surprised if Barthandelus manages to take over me again."

"What about the Avatars?"

"They can delay the inevitable, but I have no doubt Barthandelus planned something to go against it. It doesn't matter though. I'm ready to face him."

"And what if you're  _not?_ "

She looked up at him. The concern in his eyes was enough to make her look away in embarrassment. "I…it'll be fine. You shouldn't worry so much about me.  _I_  should be worried about  _you_."

"I can't  _help_  but worry about you. It's…kinda in the job description."

She tilted her head in confusion. "Huh?"

"Of a…boyfriend?"

She smiled to his relief and nodded. "Ah. I was wondering what kind of job you'd get while we were constantly on the run."

He laughed. "Yeah. So, um…that's a yes on the boyfriend thing?"

"Only if it's a yes on the girlfriend thing. Not that I'm very experienced at it. I might get fired pretty quickly."

"Well, only one way to find out."

She nodded. "Hey, Sai…"

"Hm?"

"I just wanted to say. Thank you…for giving me a chance. I don't know what I would've done, where I would've been, if it hadn't been for you."

He shrugged shyly. It was easy to bring out his bashful side, Rei learned. Granted, most of the time it was just for her. He was all put together most of the time, cool as Cactuar, but sometimes he was just a normal guy - not a l'Cie, not a soldier, just…Sai.

She had to raise up on the balls of her feet to be at his height, but once she was up there it was easy to lean in and kiss him. She unconsciously caused him to lean down a little so she could cup his head and face and not have to reach up so high. He seemed to have no idea what to do with his hands, but beyond the momentary panic at that, he didn't resist and relaxed into it. The moment Rei felt that he was okay with it and she hadn't completely screwed up, suddenly everything within her relaxed as well. Her world felt like it was exploding, but at the same time it felt more comfortable and calmer than anything in her entire life. Suddenly, she could imagine that peaceful life where there was no more fighting, where she had people she loved all around her, where everything was  _okay_. It was something she could imagine, it was something she could imagine  _attaining_.

"A kiss with the real me," she said with a small shrug. "You know, since the first time was kinda…complica-"

He was kissing her again, and it felt like her nerves would shake her apart. Was it possible to melt into a puddle of goo from a kiss? Hey, she wasn't sure of anything anymore.

"I love you."

The moment she said it, she knew she was doomed, but that didn't matter. He knew it. He probably already did, but it was worth the risk to say it aloud. She wanted to be able to say it before the choice was completely taken from her. He deserved it.

" ** _You love him._** " She felt her body trembling as the words echoed in her head. " ** _You love him. You love him. Youlovehim. Youlovehim. Youlovehimyoulovehimlovehim-_** "

" ** _And it shall be your downfall._** "

"I kept my vow," she whispered.

When Sai opened his eyes, Rei surged forward and wrapped him in a tight hug. He felt she was trembling, and he realized she was lightly sobbing as quietly as she could. He wrapped his arms around her to try and help comfort her. He wanted to make her trembling stop, he wanted to make her stop crying. He didn't know how, but he felt he was ready to do anything.

"I'm scared…" Rei admitted. "I'm scared this is goodbye…"

"Rei?"

"Please, just…don't let go. Just for a little longer…"

"Okay. Okay I won't let go."

She took in the feeling of him holding her tight, of Sai's voice, of his smell, of his warmth, of that promise of a future she started believing in again because of him. She clung to that feeling as long as she could until she couldn't feel it anymore. She felt him slowly fade away out of her grasp, but she knew it was the other way around. She was fading, and he was being left behind.

" _Hotareichan._ "

The sound of Sai's breathing was replaced by the light ripple of water; the warmth of his embrace was replaced by the cool encompassing feeling of water. Rei carefully opened her eyes and saw a gray sky. She realized she was floating in water and carefully moved to sit up. She felt a sandy seabed beneath her, making it so that when she stood up the water lapped at her waist. In front of her was a large city with an enormous fancy building in the center with architecture that Rei could honestly not see the appeal in.

"Hotareichan."

Rei's eyes lowered from the city to a woman standing in a ring of shimmering water lapping at the shores of the city. Rei wondered it she had been there a moment before.

The woman smiled at her. "Hello Rei. It's been a while."

"Do I know you?"

She gave a grin. "It's me. Styx!"

"Styx…this is Valhalla then. Shu told me about meeting you when they died for a few moments."

She nodded lightly, her smile falling sad. Styx had amethyst eyes, dark enough that they didn't stick out, but it was almost hard to look at them because her eyes seemed to project so much emotion that it hurt. It wasn't just whatever Styx was feeling; it was whatever was haunting you most, particularly about her situation.

"I'm sorry we couldn't save you," Rei said out of habit.

She knew it wasn't in her control to change things, she knew that her connection with Styx wasn't as strong as with Shu or Charon, but it was a natural thing for her to apologize for things just because she was too humble for her own good.

Styx seemed to understand this, because she waved her hand with a smile. "Oh, silly, it's  _fine_. In the same way, I'm sorry about what happened to you." Her smile slowly faded away. "I'm afraid I have to guide you through Valhalla now."

"Better late than never," Rei said, trying to shrug it off. "I knew what it meant to do it. She told me. The moment I gave in, the Avatar would save me in the only way it could - it would free me from her prison, but I'd have to say goodbye."

"She told you your humanity would become your downfall, and the moment you embraced your humanity over your fal'Cie origins, she would win," Styx agreed. "I'm truly sorry it had to be that way."

Rei didn't often cry. She had to protect her sibling all her life and put on a strong façade. She'd even had to remain strong just by instinct when she'd thought that Shu was gone, that she'd lost everything. She had put on a smile and tried to block out the pain. She had tried to stay with Sai for as long as she could and tried to hold back her tears as long as possible. But now she was alone, and now she didn't hold back. She fell into the water, kneeling and barely keeping her head above the surface as she sobbed.

It was ironic, in hindsight. Charon had wanted desperately to be a regular fal'Cie with no emotions to hurt him, but Rei just wanted to be human. She'd wanted it ever since she was back on Pulse with just her and Shu. She didn't want to be without emotions, she wanted to be without responsibilities. When she and Shu went to human villages and cities in disguise back on Pulse, Rei had the most fun. When people thought she was human, they were friendly with her. She could forget that she had some kind of big task given to her by the gods, that she was responsible for something as big as the deaths of innocents.

When Rei had come to Cocoon and found a life with Sai, she had found a life she hadn't ever imagined. She wasn't just  _visiting_  human villages, she could actually  _live_  in one. She had someone to teach her how to be a human, and it was so  _nice_. A quiet life without worrying about wars, about enemies and prejudices, about destinies from the gods. Instead, she had the prospect of a life with the best man she'd ever met and a future that she had never wanted more. For just a few moments, she'd had everyone in her life that she cared for.

Being a fal'Cie had taken everything from her, made sure that her life was completely ruined. It was her humanity that allowed her to bear half of Sai's brand and wield an Avatar to buy her the time that it already had. To say she loved him meant to choose her humanity (however mistakenly it had been given to her), and it would be to deny everything she was. And she was okay with that. She didn't want to be a fal'Cie, and perhaps it was simply her destiny to die a human rather than a fal'Cie. She'd died as who she truly was.

Styx waded through the water - which actually meant she hovered across the water since she  _was_  the water - and lowered down to be beside Rei. "I'm sorry, Rei. I wish it were different."

Rei wiped her eyes and tried to regain her breath. "It's not your fault. Here I am crying over everything I lost when you lost so much more."

Styx gave a sad smile. "It was  _always_  my fate. I've come to terms with it. I think…I was  _always_  meant to be here, in Valhalla. Here I…I'm more powerful than I ever was, in my most comfortable element. This is my home. I make the transition through death easier for others now."

"You just got your job, right?"

She shrugged. "There's no such thing as  _time_  in Valhalla. I've had my job for longer than you think. I've seen all of time, I've guided every single soul since the beginning - if there's such thing as a beginning and a potential end when you're talking about a timeless realm. It's been a long time since I last saw you. Or it hasn't been. Sorry, it's really confusing. Basically…think of it like I'm at all of time all at once. I'm at the beginning, middle, and end and I've no perception of the difference. Time just doesn't…pass for me. Yeah, that…doesn't make it better, does it?"

Rei laughed. "I  _think_  I get it."

"I can sense everything happening at all once. Back when it was just me and my river, it worked the same. I could sense everything in and around my river, I could make any number of my physical bodies appear along the stream, have fully coherent conversations, and take in my surroundings all at once. It was preparing me for this job - just instead of a river of water, it's a river of time and souls. And now…now it's time to bring in my fellow Etro fal'Cie. I think that you have a job here too, just like Shu and Charon will one day. Or…maybe they already do. I don't know. Time is difficult, okay?"

Rei laughed and wiped her eyes again. "Right."

Styx held her hand out. "Are you ready?"

Rei looked to the offered palm and reached out her hand to take it. "Yes."

Styx smiled and tightened her grip on Rei's hand. "Good. Because there's two people that you need to meet."

* * *

Sai held a trembling Rei, wishing he knew how to comfort her, but a moment later, Sai felt Rei's trembling abruptly stop. It was almost scary how fast she recomposed herself, to the point that Sai almost thought that he'd zoned out and missed something.

"Rei?"

"I'm fine," she said.

Her voice was surprisingly flat for someone who had just been bawling moments before. As she pulled back slowly, her face looked grim, but she tightened it up to be more blank and emotionless. He couldn't blame her for pushing down her emotions at a time like this.

"I'm fine. We should go. Is everyone ready?"

As the group gathered up, making the final preparations on their weapons and finishing up their conversations, they stared down the final hallway together as a group.

"Let's go save the world," Sai announced, his voice coming out a lot more reluctant that he would've liked.

"No biggie," Shu added, trying to lighten the mood.

"No biggie," Sai agreed.

He exhaled and took the first step forward, with the others following behind.


	46. Itineris Finis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my ever-loving gods, it's been a long time and I'm so sorry. I've been so busy that literally, I haven't had an entire weekend to myself in months. I've had 12 different choir songs to learn, a play to worry about, Calculus, college, wah! And now I'm learning Christmas music which, haha, slowly driving me insane. I lost my muse during the final battle (like I always do) and the battle scene in this chapter started to drag out and I had a bunch of notes for the finale that I had planned and needed to incorporate and ugh I've been so stressed, so thank you to whoever invented thanksgiving so that I have a freaking break from all this and can actually maybe write my stories! On the bright side, I actually managed to get to the end of this, so I'm just gonna post these chapters (three of 'em, derp) then go play some more FF13 cuz I needs some gil to get me some weapon upgrades since I'm into the game now, les do it!
> 
> Why must Barthandelus mutter so quietly during this fight? Like, I've never had so much trouble transcribing battle quotes until this damn fight. Sometimes he's really clear on what he's saying, but other times he not only says his lines quietly, he says his lines quietly so that the blasting music and the sounds of lasers and explosions and paradigm shifts is on top of it so there's no hope of just turning up the volume and hearing him articulate.

The glowing white wall end of the hall opened up to reveal it was a final gate for them to pass through. It raised up to reveal a doorway to their final battle.

"Let's do this," Lightning declared.

The first steps through the door provoked slight confusion. The pathway continued only about ten to twenty feet before it suddenly cut off. Down below, a large room loomed, with spinning wheels of Cocoon architecture that almost resembled the cogs of a machine. There were four wheels that were on level with the platform the group was on and the cogs circled what looked to be some kind of sharp tools aimed downwards. They looked like some kind of blasters or lasers. Between the larger four that were higher up, two additional smaller ones were on the left and right each between the larger ones - totaling eight in all. Straight ahead of them, down below, was some kind of pool of liquefied silver metal. A grate covered most of the circular floor to allow one to walk on top of it, but at the 12 o'clock position, there was an open circle to the grate. On the wall behind the open pool, a large structure rose up to the ceiling and fanned out like the backdrop to some ethereal deity in the center of it. If this was the seat of Orphan, then it wasn't hard to assume he would be rising from that pool somehow. They had to be quick.

In front of the pool of liquid was a throne bearing the brand of Lindzei - the tall throne of Barthandelus.

"Ready?" Lightning asked, looking left and right to the people around her.

They were her comrades, her friends, and this could very well be their final battle together. In a single word, Lightning conveyed her entire message. No matter what happened, the bond they'd shared had grown stronger than anything else. They had grown as people, she was proud to have shared this journey with them.

Vanille nodded. "Yep."

Hope nodded to her, then to Sazh beside him. "Yeah. Ready."

They headed to the edge of the platform, looking down at the arena that Barthandelus had chosen for them. This was where all the powerhouses of Cocoon resided - where Orphan slept, and where Barthandelus ruled, all hidden within Eden's protection. The entire room began to shake, causing them all to exclaim in surprise and take on defensive stances. They were being pushed forward. They were being warned that there would be no turning back.

"This is it," Snow announced grimly.

"Moment of truth, Hero," Lightning quipped before she jumped forward.

The others were right behind her, leaping off the platform and bracing themselves as they landed far below. As everyone stood straight from their landing positions, they were surprised to find a heavy stream of crystal shards floating through the air.

"These…" Shu muttered.

"Little lights," Vanille remarked. "Just like in Oerba."

"This is where it begins and where it ends," Rei said, her voice flat and dark as she stepped forward. "Here, Cocoon will shatter, and the catalyst of the Maker's return is assured."

"Rei?" Sai asked.

"Sister?" Shu asked, tilting their head in confusion.

Shu stepped forward to follow her, concerned, but Charon grabbed their arm and gripped it tightly to hold them back. Shu looked at him accusingly, but Charon's hardened gaze showed that he wasn't playing around. He was nervous. He was very concerned.

Rei walked up in front of Barthandelus's throne before turning around and facing them. The blank look on her face was no longer friendly at all, not even humorously dark. Charon was worried that she had been taken over again by the sadistic personality that they'd last met in Oerba when fighting Barthandelus, but there was no sign of gleeful evil in her eyes. She was just empty. And that was almost scarier.

She held out her arms and the room began to rumble again. The other l'Cie exclaimed in surprise as two octahedron crystals manifested in a shower of sparkles - green on her left, blue on her right. Beneath them on the ground, two pillars of light in their respective colors rose up, pushing the two crystals high above. The others drew their weapons as the light of the pillars intensified.

" _Life's spark shines on, once freed from its fleshly shroud._ "

The pillars of light flashed with immense power that shook the room, and when the light finally faded, the two crystals had taken form. The blue one on the right of Rei (left of the others watching) becoming the form of a child held frozen inside of crystal, the other, a shimmering solid crystal shaped in the form of a person.

"Dajh!" Sazh exclaimed.

"Serah!" Snow and Lightning called in unison.

Down the path the l'Cie had come from flew the owl Menrva - the owl of Barthandelus.

"He's here!" Charon announced.

Rei held her hands together in front of her as a small oval of blue light formed in her palms. As the light began to expand and grow more intense, she turned and threw it behind her, just as Menrva soared past the l'Cie ad straight towards the throne. The light hit the seat of the throne and began to take shape just before Menrva collided with it and it fully materialized into the human form of Barthandelus.

"Dreams, meanwhile, shatter in a flash."

Rei snapped with her right hand and up above, Dajh's crystal exploded. It wasn't loud or dramatic, the crystal simply fell apart, crystal shards flying in all directions with the sound of a glass cup hitting hard marble.

"Dajh!" Sazh screamed, reaching his hand out as he instinctively stepped forward.

Beside him, even Lightning gasped and tensed, prepared to rush forward. Snow, looking over to Serah's crystal, knowing what would happen next and already reaching his hand out for all the good it did.

"No!"

Rei raised her left hand to snap, but Shu sprinted forward out of Charon's grasp and tackled her with everything they had. She let out an 'Ooof!' and Shu had managed to stop her, but Barthandelus simply raised his staff and brought it down, tapping the floor ever so slightly. Serah's crystal shattered before their eyes.

Snow's raised hand clenched into a fist as he released a battle cry and charged forward. Barthandelus raised his barrier and Snow was flung back. This time, however, the others rushed to his aid with their weapons drawn.

Lightning knelt down and helped him up (how far she'd come from knocking the man down) and told him, "Think! Where's the  _real_  Serah?"

Snow met her gaze before reaching into his pocket and pulling out Serah's crystal tear. It was still glowing strong. Surely, if  _it_  was still intact, the rest of Serah's crystal had to be so as well. At least, that was the theory.

"Hey, listen." Sazh held his hand out with his chocobo chick jumping up and squeaking encouragingly. Snow looked up to Sazh, his other hand wielding his pistol and pointing it forward. "It isn't real. It's just fal'Cie smoke and mirrors. Right?"

Charon nodded ever so slightly. "Yeah…just…just smoke and mirrors. Right."

Hope stepped forward, gripping his boomerang tightly and glaring at Barthandelus. "Yeah.  _His_  kind don't work wonders. They play  _tricks_."

Rei raised her foot and kicked Shu hard in the gut, sending them flying away with a surprised squeak and landing behind the l'Cie just as Lightning and Snow were rising to their feet again. Shu twisted in the air and managed to land on all fours, hands and feet like a cat. Charon was already sprinting over to them, but Shu rose and nodded to him, assuring him they were okay. Right. Lions were cats. Cats landed on their feet. He felt as though he'd somehow forgotten that little detail about Shu. Somehow. Ever since he learned Shu was a lion-type fal'Cie, he'd started to remember how despite Shu's goofy personality and clumsiness, they were actually very competent and elegant. Even if Shu dropped a tall pile of boxes, that didn't mean Shu let them hit the floor. When they wanted to, they could move faster than the eye could see, and that tall pile of boxes would be stacked completely straight before you could even panic that Shu had fumbled with them.

Rei herself rose to her feet and jumped over to the two Etro fal'Cie, landing light as a feather with her blank expression. She raised her hands and flicker her wrists, causing a barrier to appear over the doorway from which they'd come, blocking off all exit.

Rei grabbed her weapons and flicked the blades free, each glowing with a silver and gold aura respectively. "We have a job to do. You're going to join me, my dear siblings, in the same way that I myself was enlightened."

"En… _lightened?_ " Shu asked, sending a nervous glance to Charon.

He drew his Wakizashi and twisted the blade in his hands. "She's going to kill us and make us vulnerable to control."

Shu frowned and hesitantly drew their weapon. "Oh. So…what do we do?"

Shu wasn't asking if they were to fight her. They weren't asking if they had to kill her. They were asking if it was possible to  _not_  fight her. They were begging for a way  _not_  to kill her.

"She made her choice. We have to honor it."

"She knew?"

He shook his head. "I'm not sure. But I'm sure she knew the risks, and she chose to stay with us anyway."

"She  _knew_  we'd have to…?"

"She knew we'd have to save her. Yeah."

Shu didn't look convinced, but they tightened their grip on their weapon and sucked in a deep breath. "Let's go."

Meanwhile, Barthandelus could only let out a cackle. "At  _last_ , my  _errant_  l'Cie. Men fight men. Men battle  _beasts_. Cocoon  _wars_  with Pulse. There can be no  _end_  to such conflict!" Menrva circled around the large room. "But  _Cocoon's_  end is  _imminent_  and  _inevitable_. Will you not at least  _slay Orphan_  and make it  _quick?_  As an act of  _mercy?_ "

"'Mercy?'" Lightning repeated, her voice cold. "You  _mean_  'murder.' And Cocoon won't  _die_. We're not here for that."

The others tightened the grips on their weapons and moved into battle stances. Lightning drew her gunblade, pulling it up and transforming it from gun form to a sword. She pointed her weapon straight at the Cocoon fal'Cie, the former king of Pulse, the man who had begun Cocoon and so desperately desired its end.

"We came…for  _you!_ "

Barthandelus almost looked human. He rose from his throne with a heavy sigh, his face contorting in something almost resembling fatigued sadness - like a parent scolding his child saying ' _I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed_.' It was rightfully earned, considering his pet projects continued to sing the same tune over and over of resisting him. Sometimes it was hard to tell who was most at fault - the l'Cie for continuing to defy their fate against impossible odds, or Barthandelus for somehow believing they'd ever stop. He didn't have a proper grasp on human willpower. He knew he needed to break them, but he could probably never know how far humans would bend before they snapped. These l'Cie were not the same people they had been when their journey had become. They were not brainwashed citizens of Cocoon anymore, and together they had gained the strength to defy their fate.

"Such  _willful_  insolence…disappointing." He spread his arms and began to rise into the air, seeping a black mist. "You  _prolong_  Cocoon's suffering. And to what  _end?_  Refusing  _me_  but condemns another to face your Focus  _tomorrow_. If you  _truly_  seek salvation, you will obey!"

He raised his staff up as Menrva flew in to merge with him. His true form was released in a blinding flash of light, the body of his large form falling with a crash in front of them. This form was similar to his last, with a white body and four upright faces that shot lasers at the group with the small wings on the ends, but this time, Barthandelus also had large wings expanding even further back behind the four extra heads. He might've looked angelic if he weren't so dead set on the destruction of the world. If there ever were a final form for Barthandelus, this was it.

The first step for them was to get as many buffs as possible quickly. They managed to get Haste, Bravera, Protect, Veil, and Shell on everyone just before Barthandelus raised his head high and thrust his taloned hands forward and cast Ultima.

" _Suffer your reward_."

A dome of immense energy struck down at the center of their group and expanded to encompass them all. It felt like the air had been transformed into nuclear energy, a pressure on your chest that made it hard to breathe, but it didn't last long because it then exploded as though struck by a bolt of lightning. The entire area was a blast of heat and fire and destruction and blinding light. Everyone who could go Sentinel went Sentinel, even if they had barely learned the role and could only provoke, since it collectively reduced damage the more Sentinels there were.

" _Come l'Cie_."

Vanille went back to buffing with Faithra and upgrading Protect and Shell to Protectra and Shellra while Sazh got in Vigilance. Hope healed everyone up for whatever damage they took from Ultima and from the continued onslaught of lasers from the four heads. Lightning and Fang went Saboteur to put every debuff they could onto Barthandelus while Snow and Sai alternated between Commando and Ravager to begin building a chain. Deshell was first, and then Deprotect - both from Lightning - and then Fang got on Imperil and Slow. By the time everyone had all their buffs and debuffs appropriately applied, Barthandelus was on the attack again.

" _Turn from your fate and your soul too shall burn bright with death!_ "

Barthandelus's face split open to reveal his myriad of blasters and his large wing accessories unfurled. His body twitched as he built up power and the team went defensive just as a shower of laser blasts swept across the battlefield. His Thanatosian Laughter was stronger than ever, but with their newly acquired skillset, there were enough trained Medics to renew the health back to full almost instantly.

" _Your path is laid by my design_."

Staggering Barthandelus didn't make him flinch, but the damage increased exponentially. Thanks to Bravera and Faithra, even the magic users were dealing damage while building a chain even further to increase the damage further and the physical hitters were hitting at the most they could possibly muster.

" _Misguided fools!_ "

Another Ultima came down upon their heads, but they didn't relent. They would hold nothing back anymore. Barthandelus was all they needed to defeat to stop this madness; he was the mastermind behind everything and so long as he was around, Cocoon would always be in danger. Once he was gone, Cocoon would be able to survive and thrive without a fal'Cie running the system. With Hope dedicating himself to healing, the damage from Ultima was exiguous at best and they soldiered onward.

* * *

Rei had only two blades in use at the moment, but she was holding her own against her two fal'Cie brethren with ease. Her two weapons, silver and gold, spun around her, pulled tight and close to her body as she twisted and thrust her hands around and forward to control them. It was impossible for either of them to get their blades through her two swords which always parried no matter how they attacked, at what angles, and at what times. On top of that, she simply had to step closer in their direction as her blades spun and attacked automatically. Openings were few and far between, and she was only ever open when she had just parried one or both of them and sent them reeling back unable to retaliate.

"Stop playing around," she ordered, silver blade parrying Charon's Wakizashi and golden blade parry Shu's large blade. Without moving a muscle, her weapons threw both of them back at once. "I know you're stronger than that. Show me your true power!"

She clapped her hands together and her blades flashed. Spinning around her like propellers, they exploded into a dozen blades, half silver and half gold, all moving independently of each other and flexing at multiple angles. If there was ever a chance at getting a weapon through her barrier of blades, now there was no chance they'd get even close to solid hit on her.

"I know you best, my little Asu," Rei said. "Remember Overwhelm?"

"Overwhelm?" Charon repeated.

"A game we used to play on Gran Pulse all those years ago. I am a blade phoenix, but Shu is a blade Felidae. They have retractable claws, you know. And they exhibit the most diverse fur patterns of all terrestrial carnivores. Basically, they're very good at hiding their true natures. You were still hiding, even the last time we fought. I know what you're capable of, Asushunamir. So fight me with your full strength. Your boyfriend of death deserves to see the true you before you both perish."

"There isn't room here for any of us to transform," Charon snorted. "Besides, we haven't even gotten started yet."

While the room they were in was large - probably built to handle both Barthandelus and Orphan's true forms - it would hardly be big enough to fit even one of the Etro fal'Cie in their transformed state, let alone all three of them, and enough room to  _fight_  in those forms was out of the question.

Rei tilted her head robotically. "Right, yes, that  _is_  true. But Asushunamir does not need any more space than we already have. To a fal'Cie of our caliber, physical form means nothing. You should know. Styxcaliaja could condense her form to a single drop of water and still crack a Long Gui's shell in that form."

Shu scowled. For once, there was no joking or even rage in their expression. "You want Overwhelm, you imposter? Fine. You'll get Overwhelm."

Shu stabbed their weapon into the metal grate beneath them, a small bush of plants emerging to form a kind of platform for it to hold it. Shu's transformation began as they bent forward and dropped to all fours, their knees bending backwards and their clothes melting into their skin to be replaced by fur that seemed to be a mix of metal and organic material. But instead of growing and expanding, Shu remained the same size as before, perhaps even sleeker. Their claws extended, their mouth opened to reveal rows of sharp teeth and their eyes dilated to become hyper-aware of their surroundings. They looked vicious enough to rip a Behemoth King limb from limb.

Rei stared stoic-faced. "Hm. Your edge has dulled from living with the humans. You were sharper last time - teeth, claws, and instinct."

"Sharper?" Charon couldn't help but repeat. Shu already looked wilder than most of the beasts on Gran Pulse.

" _Didn't I tell you?_ " Shu grumbled, their voice distorted by a feral growl in the undertones of their speech. Their eyes never left Rei as they began to circle her. " _I'm an obligate carnivore - I only eat meat. Of all the things my sister did for me, she did_ not _always do the hunting!_ "

Shu roared and charged forward in the blink of an eye. Rei took a step back as her weapons moved to shield her, but Shu struck and then weaved around them before they could follow the lion's movements and lashed out with their claws. Rei had to sidestep and one of her blades swung out to hit Shu, but they ducked under it despite the golden blade's speed and Shu tossed it away. They swung a feral claw at her, but she deflected it with her arm, allowing four cuts to wound her but in turn grabbing Shu's wrist and throwing them down to the metal grating beneath them. It bent and dented from the force, nearly leaving Shu touching the metallic liquid beneath where Orphan laid resting, waiting to be awoken and destroyed.

Shu's large blade struck out and broke into six blades, some larger than the others. The technique had only been used by Rei before when she had taken Shu's weapon, and Charon had questioned if Shu had even been capable of the skill. All of the weapons flew towards Rei, and as her ten blades came together to form a shield, she was still shoved back by the force of all the weapons charging at her at once. Shu rose to their four legs the moment they were free and launched at Rei again.

Shu struck fast and hard and didn't relent. Rei started taking the fight seriously and began waving her weapons to match Shu's pace. It clearly took all of her concentration, but she seemed to be satisfied - not gleefully so, but she had gotten what she wanted: Shu giving it their all. She wanted to crush them when they were at their peak, knowing that she could best them even when they were at their strongest.

Charon felt out of place. For a moment, it truly dawned on him what he was. He was death, he was the end, he was the youngest. He felt so little compared to the two of them. These two had a past he didn't know about, and in the same way he had a past they knew little about as well. The only one who truly knew him was Styx. He didn't know either of them, not at all - not Rei, not Shu.

Shu's Overwhelm battle style was almost terrifying. In their half-Felidae form, they had access to the agility of their fal'Cie form and human form combined. Every movement was hostile and deliberate, but at the same time Shu was fighting without a plan. Charon still had his doubts that Shu would have the willpower to kill their sister in the first place.

Charon felt an aching in his chest, a dull throbbing of dread. Zanmato was back in his control again with its flames of death and subsequently life. It was his weapon's control over the power of Valhalla that allowed him to take life or simply store it. But though he knew that he could revive someone so long as they were struck down by Zanmato, it didn't mean he knew how or if he could use the power. He worried that if he killed Rei there would be no coming back.

Rei stabbed her weapons forward as Shu charged in, but their own blades blocked Rei's and held her down with Shu's weight on top adding to the force.

"Ha, not bad for being without your precious plants," Rei sneered. "I never understood why you loved those things so much. You can control time itself, fool, and all you want to do is grow some greenery."

" _Shut up!_ " Shu snapped, and the malice in their tone made Charon pale.

He'd never heard Shu so angry before. When they'd had their fallout, Shu was angry, but that rage had been fueled by sadness. Now, there was no joking around to be had, and wrath overpowered hesitation or pity. Shu had snapped; Charon had once thought he knew what that meant, but now, he realized he had been wrong. Breaking Shu before was nothing compared to breaking Shu now.

" _You just shut up right now!_ " Shu roared, their voice distorted by a growl and layered as though there were multiple voices talking at once. " _I am so_ sick _and_ tired _of your_ bullshit! _I have_ had _it with you! Lies, lies, lies! You have the gall to insult me, how about you do it with a face I'd actually believe?! Now before I rip your throat out, you are going to tell me: what did you do to my Hotareichan? WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SISTER?!_ "

Shu didn't let their voice shake with fear, they didn't let their voice tremble with sadness. There was only rage, only a threat that they were going to get their way no matter if it took physical force or mental manipulation. They pressed down harder, shoving Rei's blades down to dig into her own skin, trapped between her and Shu's body and weapons holding her down.

" _You are going to tell me, imposter, the deal you made with her, because there's no other way she'd lose control to a wimp like you!_ "

Rei sneered. "It was less of a deal and more of a threat. Hotareichan's life was stolen by Zanmato, and once you allowed her body to fade, my master liberated it instead. I was born out of Barthandelus's will and Hotareichan's power."

" _You're_ nothing _but a fake!_ " Shu snapped.

"A fake I may be, but a fool I am not. I am a new Barthandelus, one which knows what it's like to be Hotareichan. I am born with my lord's wisdom and desires as well as the cunning of a fal'Cie born with humanity."

" _You serve as that man's pawn, nothing more._ "

"What care have I for my role? I have a goal to accomplish. I have been carefully waiting centuries, but being half Hotareichan has made me impatient. And it also has given me fun I have never known in all my years. Maybe I am not Barthandelus. Maybe I am not Hotareichan. But I know what I was born wanting, and I know the process I can use to get there in the most entertaining way possible. Unfortunately, an unpredictable factor was the branding of Hotareichan with a Pulse l'Cie mark shared with another. Nothing like this has ever happened before, nothing like it probably ever could happen again. Hotareichan is a special case, of course, and she cannot bear a brand no matter how human she might appear. Instead, she wore half the brand of another. When I came too close to  _him_ , I didn't realize what was happening until it was too late - probably something deliberately orchestrated."

" _Sai's half of the brand…it persevered a part of Rei,_ " Shu guessed. " _During his moment of greatest distress, Avatar was summoned to save him with its power: the power to bring Rei back_."

"Temporarily giving the shadow of her soul connected to Valhalla - and therefore Avatar - back to this body. Basically, she took control, though with many caveats. For one, Avatar could not sustain her without the strain of fighting me back coming into play. Avatar is powerful, adaptable, but Eidolons have their limits. All it took was for Hotareichan to deny herself for me to take over. And she knew it, but she did it anyway! To live and love as a human is to accept the fate that a fal'Cie can never and  _should_  never have! Because Hotareichan chose humanity over her true nature, that which the Eidolon Avatar could sustain met its end. Hotareichan lives in Valhalla now with Styxcaliaja, and the only way you'll ever see her again is when you say goodbye to this world and give your power to Barthandelus to become just like me!"

Rei opened her mouth wide and with a small pop and click a blaster similar to the ones that Barthandelus used for his Thanatosian Smile rose to the surface. She blasted Shu right in the face with a strike not nearly as powerful as the original Thanatosian Smile beams but more than enough to shock Shu and ward them off when they were so close to the origin of the blast. Shu was thrown away from their sister, but they rolled to their feet with quick, agile, cat-like grace that matched their appearance so well.

" _Rude,_ " Shu grumbled.

"You're going to have to do better than that if you want to beat me, little Asu," Rei said, rising and spreading her weapons once more. "Rage doesn't sustain a long-term battle, and right now I don't think you can take much more of this."

" _Neither can you. Fake it all you like and say whatever you want, but your body's wearing out and I've damaged it significantly. You may not be able to feel the pain, or you simply won't acknowledge it, but you will fight yourself to exhaustion._ "

She put her hand to her chest. "Hotareichan's body is one of a kind, I admit, and I won't be able to exist without it, but my job is nearly complete, so I don't have to care much what happens to me. This body is special, see, because Hotareichan is unique. She is beginnings, the fresh seed of new ideas and creations. The only way I could be born was through Hotareichan's power, and now Barthandelus has the new ability mastered with Hotareichan's success. I am no longer needed, but my power is still useful alive. At the same time, Hotareichan's body is the only one that can revive her true soul. Not that I'd ever let that happen, but food for thought."

" _You think I will hold back because I hope for my sister's return, fiend? Would you call me a fool?_ "

She shrugged. "Worth a shot."

She suddenly dashed forward, and the fight resumed at full speed, Shu evading and striking back with their claws. But Shu was slower, Charon noticed. They were fatiguing just like Rei, only Rei didn't seem to notice or acknowledge her weakness - just like Shu had said, she might not have been able to feel her pain or was just very good at ignoring it, which made her a superior fighter in a battle of endurance. She was just as fast as Shu but she didn't have to waste the energy worrying about her exhaustion, meanwhile Shu was distracted by their pain and pushing themself harder to keep up was causing them to lose their focus.

"Asushunamir!"

They were hit and flung away, but they rolled across the grating of the floor to their feet once more. " _Are you ready?_ "

"Ready," Charon answered.

" _Then go!_ "

The two of them charged with a predetermined battle plan laid out before them. Charon let his Kozuka fly, flicking out his coat to reveal the dozens of blades that he held on him. Shu had suggested the idea that Charon could control each of his blades similar to how Rei and Shu could control their multitude of weapons (once they split apart, of course). Charon had long since been able to use mental control of his blades to his advantage, and he had a plan that would help him with quick and/or overpowering enemies, which he hadn't needed to use before. They'd never expected to use the plan since Barthandelus was a stationary target, but here with Rei it might be the turning point in the battle.

Rei scoffed. "Typical. You cannot face me by your own strength. But let's see what you've got, Mataecharonsan, when you start taking things seriously!"

"The blades!" Charon shouted, and Shu knew what he meant.

His Kozuka greatly outnumbered Rei's blades, but hers were still stronger and would be able to knock his Kozuka away and interfere with his strategy. Beyond that, Rei's weapons in general were going to be their biggest problem. Shu went after them, knowing her weapons well and knowing that the best way to stop them was to find the main two. Interfering with them too heavily would cause the rest of the blades to list and Rei's concentration would falter. Restraining her original two blades would effectively take Rei's attention and cause her control over the rest to waver, but that was easier said than done. If anyone  _could_  find the original blades, it was Shu, and this was their best plan, so might as well go for it.

Shu watched the movements of the blades during their fight and they narrowed the options down to three different sets of the two blades that attacked the most often and the most precisely. Rei's original blades were the ones that she had the most control over, and all others fell behind - the same way that real wings worked with the actual bones being the things the creature controlled and the rest of the wing only following suit when the origin point was flapped. Rei could control blades individually, but she needed to focus on them specifically, which clued Shu in as to when the blades she was controlling weren't her originals. It was hard to keep track when they were moving so often, but Shu managed to follow them with their eyes. To make things easier, Shu allowed Rei to cut them with the blades they were targeting, once for their initial guesses and eventually twice as they narrowed things down. The markings with blood allowed Shu to keep track of which weapons they were targeting.

" _I pity your existence, creature!_ " Shu shouted. " _You are nothing but a cheap imitation; you could never be what Rei was and can never know her true power._ "

"I  _am_  what Rei was. Her mind is mine, her wisdom and intuition and skill. It is mine, and you will be just like me soon enough!"

Rei flung all of her blades forward to attack. Charon parried some with his Kozuka and most with his Wakizashi while Shu dodged with their agility and aimed for the two blades that they'd settled on. They bit down on the hilt of one and pinned the other down with all their blades from Shu's larger one, causing Rei to physically be pulled in the direction of the weapons as though she was connected to them with an invisible string. Shu knew they'd gotten the right ones when Rei was genuinely taken off balance, and Charon took it as his cue.

He threw his arms out and all of his Kozuka flashed with a light blue aura. He only had a few seconds to take Rei off guard before she realized what they were up to, so he wasted no time. He teleported to a random Kozuka and then flew forward to strike her with all the speed and power he could muster in the shortest period of time - imbued with extra energy thanks to his Kozuka's enhancement. Rei's eyes turned to look at him, but it was too late. She was struck by a powerful hit, weaker than what he could manage with his Wakizashi, but it was more than enough to cause her to stagger - and that wasn't it. He teleported to another random Kozuka and charged in again the moment he appeared, soaring through the air to strike Rei at a random angle. Though she was fast enough to see him coming, she wasn't fast enough to be able to react, and so all she could do was take the hit before Charon was gone and had launched himself from another random Kozuka scattered about the area.

Shu ducked out of the way, pinning Rei's blades down a safe distance away with their own blades. Her weapons flinched and struggled to get free, so Shu could tell Rei was resisting and trying to strike back, but with her main blades disabled and the disorientation of being attacked without a sufficient moment to gather herself, she was unable to retaliate or even control her secondary blades; they were thrown in every direction as she was struck by Charon and she lost her grip on them from the impacts.

Charon hit Rei with every Kozuka he had, even using a couple more than once since they had the time to regenerate some extra power and allow him to keep the chain going. He knew that if he didn't finish the job quickly, he wouldn't get another chance; catching Rei off guard wouldn't be easy, but for now he had the advantage and he couldn't waste it. From his numerous attacks on her, he could see she was taking heavy damage, but with his Kozuka getting weaker with every hit, he knew that she was planning a counterattack any second - all she needed was for him to slow down just the tiniest bit and yet still go in for the hit.

Charon pushed his powers so that his attack could keep going, before finally he knew that he was out of juice, and he went in with his Wakizashi this time. He summoned the rest of his strength and rushed forward, hoping that the strike would hit. He was honestly unsure if she had a plan to stop him, but he was close to surprise when he managed to make contact and struck her down.

There was a moment of pause as Charon slowly came down from his high, realizing that he had managed to do it. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel. Elated? Victorious? Relieved? No. He felt none of that. He just felt unease.

"How…?"

" _Charon!_ "

He turned just in time to be struck by a swipe from Rei. She was bloody, beaten, and battered, but she had survived. Even without her blades, she still had talons that were built for hunting, killing upon first contact. If her swipe had hit anything other than another fal'Cie, she'd have instantly mutilated it. Charon managed to survive, but he was thrown away with force that he knew was weaker than before but also fueled by rage.

"How…could a  _midget_  like you…?!" she hissed.

" _Charon!_ " Shu called.

"I'm fine!" he announced.

He felt his blood seeping through his wound, spanning his upper left arm, down across his chest, and down his entire torso to end near his right hip. He'd gotten a small nick across his right forearm as well just because of the positioning of the strike, a random variable that couldn't have been helped. It stung like hell, and there was no telling if Rei had some kind of poison or trick in her claws that would render him immobile or worse from the wound.

Shu roared and charged towards Rei, who turned towards them slowly but had plenty enough time to swing her arm out and send four waves of energy through the air, leaving Shu barely enough time to dodge. Charon didn't understand how she was weaker yet stronger, but he didn't waste time wondering, simply raising his Wakizashi and moving to strike. It hurt to move, but he powered through the pain and joined Shu in one final assault, one which he honestly didn't know what the outcome would be.

Shu's speed was still at full capacity despite the battle's tolls and so Shu was easily able to hit Rei - especially after she had lost access to her blades - in rapid succession. However, despite her already being weakened significantly, she still swung her arms out, slow but intense, and sent out waves of energy in the directions she was aiming. Charon had to be careful to avoid her strikes, because at close range he stood little chance of dodging, and he'd already taken a hit; he couldn't afford another one with Rei's last burst of strength making her so strong.

It must have been something related to her phoenix origins. The last time Charon had killed her, it had been quick and sudden, and he really didn't have much of a heart to fight her, not really, not back then. In an actual combat situation that didn't involve Zanmato (which he was specifically refraining from using) Rei was a powerful beast, and the closer she came to death, the stronger and more animalistic she became. And this wasn't even taking into account that she had more up her sleeve that she hadn't yet had the chance to use - Shu knew the things that Rei could do, which she had previously only ever done for fun, never in a truly desperate situation.

"Ashes."

Rei turned and slammed her hang against Charon's torso when he was close enough for her to hit, spinning around with speed he didn't think she had left in her. He felt a suffocating pain flare up - not only from his wound being violently struct, but also from an unnatural energy that she had forced through him.

" _Charon!_ "

Shu was screaming his name a lot, he thought to himself as he collapsed. He couldn't feel his body anymore, he was barely aware that he had fallen over onto the metal grating beneath him. He was dissolving into ashes, he realized. She was slowly dissolving him, like fal'Cie acid that ate away at his very being and used his own existence against him.

He was able to see as Shu struck out at Rei with a flurry of attacks, some of them out of his range of view. Most of them were too fast for him to fully comprehend, but he knew that Shu was driving her back.

' _Win, Flower,_ ' he wanted to say, but he couldn't move his mouth. ' _Please win and live. You can win._ '

" _ERESHKIGALA_."

Barthandelus's metallic voice rang out and seemed to reverberate through the large room. Shu's body collapsed against their will as their body shifted and returned to its human state. They were convulsing in pain, trying to fight it, which was more than Shu had managed the last time they had been disabled by Barthandelus. They were moving, their arms and legs were twitching, and they were managing to raise their head.

But it wasn't enough, Charon realized.

Shu's blades fell limp, releasing Rei's weapons which had been held down. Her auxiliary blades had disappeared, but she still had control of her main two, which rose into the air, letting Shu's blade fall limp beside them. Shu was looking up at Rei, fighting with everything they had to control their body.

"I…am free…of Barthandelus!" Shu declared. "I will…not submit…out of fear! Not anymore!" Shu began to crawl forward with their arms. It took all of their concentration, and it felt like their muscles had no energy left, but they kept going. "Therefore I…am not…his…slave! I will not…be stopped! I will not…be afraid! Not anymore! No more! No more! No more of this! NO MORE!"

Shu pushed themself up, balancing on their arms, but though Rei was slowed down as well, Shu was slower. Rei didn't have to move her body to move her blades; in fact, it seemed that controlling her blade now rendered the rest of her immobile. But moving her weapons was more than enough.

It was Charon's turn to scream. He didn't have the energy to do anything else but scream. "Shu!"

Shu had managed to get to their feet, wobbly and trembling from resisting. It should have been a major accomplishment that Shu had finally managed to resist Barthandelus, but it wasn't enough. Rei had an easy opening to strike. Shu's arm was sliced clean off at the shoulder, causing them to release a scream and to fall back down to the grating again.

"You put up a fight, little Asu," Rei said. "I expected as much. Shhh, it's all right. It'll feel much better once you've been remade. It's okay."

Rei raised her weapons and aimed at Shu. Shu closed their eyes, gritting their teeth, and a vine shot out. It wrapped around Rei's body, grabbing her and squeezing tight while growing as large as it could to try and consume her, causing her to stagger, and her blades missed. One barely managed to miss Shu's head, the other dug itself into Shu's remaining arm's bicep, but it at least missed their core where Rei had been aiming. Rei had to drop control of her weapons in order to move her body and tear the vines away, though they kept on growing around her as she clawed away at them.

Charon felt her Ashes attack still eating away at him, but it was dying down as Rei's concentration and her power waned. He managed to move, pulling himself across the grating to be beside Shu - luckily, the grating was easy to grab for handholds.

"Shu…"

"That was my last trick," Shu admitted. Shu wiggled their fingers, where a small flower ring had appeared, the stem reaching down the back of their hand to connect to the bioluminescent plant around their wrist. "She promised she'd always come find me. No matter how long it takes." Shu closed their eyes. "I'm ready. I wasn't before, I admit. But now I'm ready." Shu opened their eyes, which had started glowing an eerie light green. " _Consume._ "

The plants wrapped around Rei had been weakening, and she had slowly been able to tear them off with her remaining strength, but they began to glow with Shu's power, the same color their eyes had become, and their growth went out of control. Rei was consumed in an instant, surrounded by a swirling mass of vines and greenery. Thorns sprouted from the plants; there was so much power in the plants that they began to grow far beyond just consuming Rei. They became a giant mass of twitching, wiggling, swirling vines, and Rei's form was lost in the chaos.

Charon felt the spell on his body fading away, and though he was heavily damaged, he wasn't being dissolved to ashes anymore. Either Rei had lost control over the spell, ran out of energy, or she was completely gone.

"I made my choice," Shu said. "Goodbye, Rei."

* * *

"Bastard!" Fang shouted.

"You're a dead man now, Dysley!" Snow declared.

"Now!" Lightning shouted.

Hope and Vanille worked together to cast all of the top tier spells they could manage at once. Barthandelus flinched as he was staggered, and the team unleashed everything they had.

" _You are pawns_."

Another Ultima rained down upon them, but thanks to Fang and Vanille, the party had extra protection with both Protectra and Shellra and continued their offensive without stopping.

"Go!" Lightning shouted.

She and Sazh began to unleash Army of One and Cold Blood respectively, quick and powerful multi-hitting attacks, while Hope concentrated and summoned a dozen orbs of holy magic that spun around him, launching into the air before then raining down upon Barthandelus. His multiple heads faded away from the assault, leaving on his remaining body, which Fang, Snow, and Vanille aimed at specifically with their attacks.

" _Fulfill your Focus and gain eternal life!_ "

"Would you just shut up?" Sazh complained, firing specifically into Barthandelus's metal eye.

"Ready for the final hit?!" Sai called.

"All right, here it comes!" Vanille agreed.

She waved her hand forward, throwing out a powerful death spell, and while it had a low chance of instant death (unlikely to work at all against a fal'Cie), it was still the most powerful magic spell in their arsenal, with one big wham of a hit. Snow and Fang both ran forward and launched themselves up, twisting in the air with fists and lance respectively, and came down on Barthandelus's head with Sovereign Fist and Highwind.

"Ashes to Ashes!" A myriad of blades went flying towards Barthandelus, disappearing on impact but still doing a ton of damage. "Phoenix Strike!"

Sai gathered his large, blue crystal broadsword that pulsed with a purple, red, and orange aura - still under his control from the power Rei had left him - putting all his rage into the weapon's creation. He reared back and threw the weapon just as the Ashes to Ashes attack came to an end, leaving the final round of weapons embedded within Barthandelus's frame. The large crystal sword exploded, having hit dead center between Barthandelus's eyes using the gen on his nose as a target, and then the rest of the blades exploded across Barthandelus's body as well.

Sai waved his hands and summoned back his original silver and gold blades, falling to his knees after using up most of his energy on that attack, but it seemed to have done the trick.

Barthandelus's body glowed with a shimmering white aura as he roared in pain. His head reared with his metallic voice crying out as his body sink into the pool of metallic liquid behind him, to the group's amazement and awe.

"Hey! Put a lid on it!" Sazh called.

" _Release…at last, release!_ " Barthandelus's voice faded away as his body was consumed by the pool.

Lightning sighed. "It's done."

The group breathed a collective sigh of relief, shifting from the high of the battle still coursing through them. Finally, Snow broke the silence.

He laughed and threw his fist into the air. "All right!"

That seemed to break the tension in the air as Fang and Vanille crossed forearms in celebration, chuckling and giggling, respectively. Sazh simply heaved a heavy sigh of relief and exhaustion.

"We did it, huh?" Snow cheered to Hope.

"Yup," Hope nodded.

Sai turned and looked over towards Charon and Shu, who were both slowly sitting up - the former helping the latter because they had lost an arm.

"Guys!" Sai hurried over to them, exhausted, but not nearly in as bad a condition as they were. "Are you okay?"

Shu nodded. "We're fine, Sai. Thanks for worrying. What about you?"

"Better than you, at least." He knelt down and reached out for Shu's missing arm, but held himself back. "Are you…? Where did…?"

"It's fine. It'll grow back. Any limb severed from me dies and becomes good fertilizer. Granted, this isn't really a good place for fertilizer…"

"Shu just needs some rest to gather the energy to grow it back," Charon confirmed. "All of us can do it, but Shu can do it best, being a growth fal'Cie and all."

"Where's Rei?"

Shu nodded over to a squirming mass of plants that began to slowly disperse, snaking their way over to Shu and returning to their plant panjas bracelet. Rei's body was left lying there, to Charon's surprise.

"I thought you…"

"I had intended to, but when Barthandelus died, something changed about her. She was already dead, it was Barthandelus reanimating her body with his will that created that version of Rei. When Barthandelus died, so too did this fake Rei. There was nothing left to consume. So I left her body. We can give her a proper fal'Cie burial."

"What's that?" Sai asked.

"We revert her to her true form, transform it into a monument. Normally, we'd allow her power to return to the gods from whence she came, but this is a special case in more ways than one. But she still deserves our best efforts."

"That…sounds nice."

"She was formidable, that's for sure," Charon said.

Shu chuckled. "Rei's never lost a fight before, at least one that I can remember. I never knew what her limits were, and quite frankly, I was afraid to find out."

"Don't sell yourself short, Flower. You still beat her. Without Barthandelus interfering, I think you could've won single-handedly."

"We can only speculate now." Shu wiggled closer to Charon, closing their eyes and savoring his warmth. "Honestly, I really don't want to speculate, either."

"It's over now," Sai said. "Now we just need to figure a way out of here-"

"Shh," Charon hissed.

"What?"

"Chare?" Shu asked, opening their eyes again.

"Don't you feel that?"

Shu concentrated for a moment, before their blue eyes darted downwards. "Beneath us…"

"What's happening?" Sai demanded.

Lightning was staring down at the metallic pool where Barthandelus had vanished before she gasped and looked up, and the others soon followed suit.

"It's that bird again!" Hope announced.

"Menrva!" Shu shouted.

"Don't let it get to the pool!" Charon screamed.

Lightning transformed her gunblade and fired with the quickest reaction time. She could hit Fang's Eidolith crystal in midair while falling with the high wind speeds against her and the tiny target thrown into the distance, so her aim wasn't a problem. She hit the mechanical owl, and her bullets were more than strong enough to take it down, but unfortunately its momentum was enough to cause it to fall straight into the pool of metallic liquid that it had been diving for. Upon contact it glowed and disappeared in a flash of light, causing the entire pool of liquid to shimmer from silver to gold. The entire area shook with power as something appeared from the glowing golden aura that Menrva had left behind.

"Rei!"

She slowly rose like a puppet pulled up with strings, her mouth moving on its own. Two voices seemed to ring throughout the room itself, like the walls had become speakers vibrating the very air.

A large being rose out of the pool of liquid, staring with a giant clock-like form with spikes bearing the brand of Lindzei and spinning circles of artistic renditions of the god's face. The circular contraption acted as a sort of halo that framed the faces of the creature. In front of the large dial were three beings - on the left was a woman, her face small and simple, with the brand of Lindzei on her forehead falling between her glowing green eyes. Atop her head was a fan of spikes as some sort of headdress, and her face and body were framed with golden accents to compliment her white body; a long tail ending with the crest of Lindzei as the tip wiggling free. She seemed to be an impression of Lindzei herself, like some sort of angel. Her body was attached to the larger half of a man, his face turned to the side so that only half of it was facing forward. The vaguely familiar face of Barthandelus seemed to have become the male half of the creature. He had glowing red eyes, and his blue crystal body extended downwards into the shape of a large pillar-like blade with a Lindzei mark stamped right in the middle, and his large, clawed hand extended out to the side. Between the two of them was a third face that resembled a smaller version of the woman, probably her child - which was made even more likely as the woman caressed the child's small face; its eyes were closed, as if sleeping.

" _A haven, yea. Yet it must fall, ere we be saved. To frail a shell, and humans should not thrive._ " The man's large hand curled into a fist and slammed down on the floor of the room, causing everyone to fall back. Lightning and Snow were the first to rise back up, having managed to keep their feet beneath them, with Fang and Sazh quickly behind them and Hope and Vanille last, the latter four having fallen completely off their feet. " _Too stout a shell, and they would not die. Slaughter and salvation. Two irreconcilable Focuses we bore. Yet bound were we in a cocoon prison impervious to our power. And so we thank you, for granting us our longed-for birth._ "

"Dysley…?" Snow muttered, recognizing the voice of the masculine side of Orphan.

"No," Sazh said. "Not anymore."

"What  _happened?_ " Sai asked.

"Barthandelus must've known why dying here would mean," Shu said. "Otherwise, it was a terrible coincidence."

"But what did he  _do?_ " Sai pressed.

" _We are the Abandoned One, born but now to die._ " The woman and man both spread their arms outwards, a fan of wings spreading behind the woman to go along with the halo behind her, adding to her seraphim-like appearance. " _Our name is Orphan. By our hand, the world shall know redemption._ "

"Using Barthandelus's body, Orphan gave itself a body to be born with," Charon said. "And now he has come to die."

"We can't leave this place," Shu said. "We either fight and kill Orphan, or Orphan will kill us. Because now he has the body to do so. But this is only the beginning. These are Orphan's parents. To fully birth Orphan, we have to make Orphan an…well, an Orphan."

"That kid in the middle?" Sai spotted.

"We don't have the power left to fight and defeat Orphan, and even if we did, killing both Orphan and Orphan's parents-"

"-will mean the destruction of Cocoon," Charon finished. "In the end, Barthandelus got what we wanted: forcing us to choose between our lives and that of the people. Either we die here, or all of Cocoon falls."


	47. Smoke and Mirrors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It seems that Orphan inherited Barthandelus's inability to speak clearly during this fight. That's all I'll say. Also he never uses Chains of Torment, but I hear they're a thing, so…yeah. Now I may be overpowered, but Orphan goes down pretty easy and uses his slap attack more than anything else. Like, I'm trying to get him to show me his moves, but nope, he dunna wanna.

"Hello!"

Rei blinked. "Um…hi?"

Styx glided forward, her dress still concealing if she had any legs. "Rei, this is…well, what do you wanna be called?"

"Hmm, that's a tough question."

The man before Rei was a tall, lean warrior, wearing armor carved with Etro script. He had a cascade of fiery red hair and looked far from human, with sharp facial features and pointed ears.

"You look familiar," Rei thought aloud.

He smiled. "Oh, I am! You went looking for me a while back, didn't you? Or  _will_  be looking for me? Or you  _are_  looking for me. Tenses are hard in Valhalla."

"I…get that. I think. But…who  _are_  you?"

"Hmm. Well I'm not very used to names. No one ever refers to me by a name. We all just kind understand when people are referring to us. I'm me. You're you. How can a single word possibly describe everything that I am?"

"Sure, I guess that makes sense. But I wanna call you something."

"Hmm, well how about you choose a  _really_  generic name for me, eh? Like One. That's a nice name."

"Or Red. Since your hair is red."

"Red! That's a nice name. I wanna be Red."

Styx sighed. "How about we just go with the names that I  _gave_  you before? Or have I given them to you yet?"

"Hmm…" Red tapped his chin. "Oh right! You  _did_  give us names for when we were in the human world!"

"I suppose I should've just opened with that," Styx muttered. "Rei, this is Ananda. Where is Kasyapa?"

"Guarding the gate, of course. As always. He always insists there's a guard at the gate, especially now. It took me  _ages_  to convince him to go out and try to meet you guys back when you were on Gran Pulse, but you all bypassed us completely! Now he'll probably  _never_  leave the gate. Come with me, Hotareichan. I'll show you to Kasyapa."

"They have some things to tell you," Styx said. "They're a higher power than me, but in the end, we are all servants of Etro. And right now, all of us are needed more than ever. Whatever you do, Hotareichan, just remember that you have a role to play. We all do."

With that, Styx retreated, gliding away back to the shores of Valhalla where she would eternally rule the waters of time.

"Come on," Ananda urged. "You know how to fly, right?"

Rei nodded. "Yeah."

Ananda guided Rei up into the skies of Valhalla, flying far above the buildings and the large structures that made up the grand palace and temples of Etro. The seas around Valhalla continued in every direction without end, though Rei  _could_  see a bunch of rock formations scattered about in the ocean, and many in the skies as well, just hovering around. This world seemed so tiny, though Rei could feel the many multitude of souls that were swirling around. Valhalla didn't need to be big physically because this was a place for souls, and not many with physical forms existed here.

As Ananda led her further up, Rei spotted a large eye-shaped structure. As Rei flew up to it, memories flashed through her mind. This eye looked familiar. It was a gate, she knew. Etro's Gate. A path to the world of the living, one which must never be opened else the balance between the realm of the living and the world of the dead may cause a collapse in the very universe itself. Etro can see into the world of the humans, but she cannot influence it any other way.

Those were the rules. But the rules had been broken.

"Hotareichan, I'd like you to meet Kasyapa," Ananda introduced. "My partner in crime."

Floating in front of Etro's Gate was a warrior dressed in the same divine armor as Ananda. He had shimmering black hair that almost looked blue when viewed at the right angle, like some sort of magic effect. He didn't have the same sharp facial features that Ananda had - which made the latter look very inhuman. In fact, Kasyapa looked  _very_  human, minus the fact that the look in his eyes showed an ancient wisdom beyond that of any regular mortal.

"I still don't like this," Kasyapa said.

"Come on, lighten up, love," Ananda urged.

"What?" Rei asked. "What do you not like? Am I in trouble?"

Kasyapa's hard gaze moved to Rei, and she nearly felt she was going to fall out of the sky from the intensity of his eyes hitting her in the gut.

Ananda quickly moved between the two of them, waving his arms in a placating manner. "Now let's not jump into anything. Listen, perhaps I should explain first. You see we were what are known as the Hands of Etro. We are her servants that perform most of her duties, fal'Cie of sorts, but we are not technically new entities. We are a part of Etro, that is how it must always be. You are aware of the legends of Etro's creation, correct?"

Rei nodded. "I know the story. Bhunivelze, God of Light, created Etro after he created Pulse. He had accidentally created her in the image of his mother, Mwynn - whom he had overthrown so that he might rule over the world. Because of this fear, he left Etro with no powers to create beings of her own. While Pulse and Lindzei were tasked with finding a way into the Unseen Realm, Etro was lonely, and eventually, in a big to gain her father's attention, Etro killed herself, and her blood was used to create the first humans by Lindzei. By killing herself, she entered the middle realm between the Unseen Realm and the visible world, where she found Mwynn, who was being overtaken by chaos that festered as a result of Bhunivelze's attempt to reach the Unseen Realm. Mwynn tasked Etro with protecting the world balance before she disappeared, and so with her power over the chaos, she granted the people made from her blood the piece of chaos we know as their hearts or souls."

"Their  _souls_ ," Ananda clarified. "Hearts are a whole different thing - closely related, but different. Hearts are connected more to the life of a human rather than the person that they become thanks to the soul that chaos grants. But you're right on the money, otherwise. No one truly knows the origins of the chaos, and even those who are Etro's servants know very little."

"Only we in Valhalla are ever to learn the truth about the chaos," Kasyapa snapped. "We should not be telling her too much."

"But Kasyapa, I think she already knows."

Kasyapa scoffed. "What is your insistence with those foolish titles? Honestly, I don't know  _what_  I see in you."

"Aw, you  _wound_  me, Kas! I  _like_  having names. It's fun."

"We should not have names! We are the tools of Etro, we are parts of her that are not meant to be anything more. By giving ourselves distinct names, we are going against the laws of reality. It would be like chopping off your finger and naming it Bob."

"Well, if Bob was a fully sentient being, of course."

"Exactly."

"You are such a stickler, Kas-y. Sorry about him, Hotareichan. He's a bit of a stick in the mud."

"Would you stop talking like a human?" Kasyapa complained. " _Why_  must you insist on being so human?"

"Because I'm  _not_  one. Simple." Ananda waved. "Anyway, we're getting off topic. This realm doesn't have a concept of time, but I'll try and make this quick. You, Asushunamir, Hyacinthaja, and Styxcaliaja each have an important role to play as servants of Etro. In the same way that we are the Hands of Etro - I'm the right hand, he's the left - you, Rei, are the  _Wings_  of Etro. Styx possesses the Ears of Etro, Hyacinthaja holds the Mind of Etro, and Asushunamir holds the Voice of Etro."

Rei tilted her head. "I understand the Wings of Etro bit, but the others?"

"Styx holds the Ears of Etro. She is able to hear across the timeline itself. It sounds dumb on the surface, but haven't you ever had those moments when you just sit down, close your eyes, and listen to the world around you? How much can you gleam from the world when you are using nothing but your ears? How much do you truly perceive when your eyes are taken from you and you've nothing to go on but sound? How does that change your perception? How does it enhance it? You may have never known that Styx was blind, did you? Hyacinthaja knew, but it was easy for him to forget at times. Styx's physical form is something she creates; she is nothing but a stream, nothing that you can see with your eyes. She was born to listen, to go where she may please and to absorb the stories that the world has to tell."

Rei looked down to the shores of Valhalla where Styx's river ran. She had always known that each of them represented a part of the cycle of life, which was why they were in the human world where life took place as opposed to in Valhalla where Etro took care of the death cycle (and subsequent rebirth); however, she had never thought about them being parts of Etro. But Styx being the Ears of Etro kinda made sense. Styx played a quiet role in her life, she was small and meager and hardly ever reached out of her own accord. She didn't need to. All she ever wanted to do was listen to the stories of others.

"I suppose Charon being the Mind of Etro makes a little sense too," she muttered aloud. "He's always overthinking things, that one. The concept of emotions always overwhelmed him, it confused him, and it took him some time to learn that emotions could be good for him. He's a very logical thinker, that one. But what about the Voice of Etro in Shu?"

"That one's a bit complex," Ananda admitted. "The Voice of Etro is powerful. Most of us are all silent aspects of Etro that serve a purpose, but Asushunamir holds one of the most powerful aspects of Etro - her voice. A part of her that no one has ever truly heard - or perhaps we  _have_  heard it, but it was too complex and powerful for us to comprehend. Asushunamir doesn't know that they are the voice of Etro, and even if they  _did_  learn, understanding how to  _use_  the Voice of Etro is another task entirely. Etro is connected to the timeline - her eyes can see it, her ears can hear it, her mind and heart can understand it, her hands can protect it. But what can her voice do, in that case? Her voice can  _command_  it. I don't know how it works, in truth, I don't know if I  _want_  to.

"But either way, all the aspects of Etro have been split into us, her servants. We are  _like_  fal'Cie, but we aren't like the other fal'Cie of Pulse and Lindzei - we are not separate entities, because Etro cannot create new beings. She can only split herself off, which is why Kasyapa here is such a stiff. He means well, I assure you, he's just stressed since things have been going a bit sideways recently."

"' _Things going sideways_ ' being the censored version of what is happening right now," Kasyapa corrected. "Because the situation is so dire, that is the only reason I am even  _considering_  going along with this plan."

"And because mother Etro willed it," Ananda added.

"That too."

"You see, Hotareichan, here in Valhalla resides the most important part of Etro - her will. It is what controls the rest of us. Even though her mind and heart are elsewhere, her will is here. We could get into more details about it, but the jist of it is that Etro can be split into a lot of parts, but the thing that makes Etro 'Etro' must remain here in Valhalla. She is the sovereign ruler of us all, no questions asked. Though we are all separate from her, Etro's main source must be here in Valhalla to help souls that come here with the whole rebirth process. She's given us orders, and even Kasyapa and his stubbornness can't deny Her Grace what she desires."

"It's not a good idea," Kasyapa said. "Sometimes I fear what splitting herself up has done for her sense of reason."

"We are sending Etro's blessings through the Gate," Ananda said bluntly, "and we need someone to take them - that someone being you."

"Me? But…we  _can't_  open the gate! The Chaos in this land has grown so thick that opening the main gate to let something  _out_  of Valhalla could warp the timeline. Letting souls to be reborn out is one thing - the auxiliary gates can handle that, no problem, but to send Etro's blessings through the main gate is too risky!"

"Listen to me, Hotareichan," Kasyapa said. "I've grappled with this foolish plan for an eternity - quite literally, if we're considering that this place has no time and infinite time. I will never stop fearing the consequences of our actions should we go through with this, but I can never forget the consequences of  _failing_  to act as well. Out there, the foolish children of Pulse and Lindzei have orchestrated the extinction of humanity. That is no exaggeration; they mean for the fall of Cocoon to be a genocide, plain and simple. If they succeed, the auxiliary gates in that time period will be flooded, and I mean  _flooded_  with souls. Every soul, every human that has ever existed, will be returned to Valhalla, and so many deaths run the risk of breaking the gates and permanently opening them. You understand what that means?"

"The Chaos of Valhalla would be free to run rampant," Rei realized. "There would be no stopping it. It wouldn't just be the destruction of humanity - it would be the destruction of the world, the  _universe_."

"What Etro has planned is risky, but the alternative is nothing that I want to face. There is only one guarantee here: if we sit back and do nothing, the end will be inevitable. At least this way, there's a  _chance_  that we can mitigate the damage."

Rei pursed her lips in hesitation, but ultimately, she knew that both of them were right. They couldn't afford to worry about what might happen if they do something wrong when they knew what  _would_  happen if they didn't do  _something_.

"What do I have to do?"

* * *

" _Consummate Light_ ," Rei muttered, her eyes glazed over in a daze.

"What's that mean?" Sai asked.

"Orphan's starting defensive," Shu said. "But that means they're preparing to fight."

The woman half of Orphan waved her hand out, summoning a glowing white orb in the air swirling with the Lindzei brand.

"What do we do?!"

"What else  _can_  you do?!" Charon snapped. "You run or you fight! But you can't run here, so you either lay down and die or you kill Orphan!"

"Charon," Shu urged, grabbing his arm and silently reprimanding him. After a moment, he sunk back down and the tension melted from his body. "We don't have the strength to help," Shu said to Sai. "I'm sorry. But this is a choice that you all must make. You are humans, Cocoon is your home, and you are the only ones who have the right to make this decision."

"I…we can't…"

"You are the only ones who can make the choice to save your people!" Shu snapped. "However you will do that is up to you. Orphan must be stopped, but there  _must_  be a way to save Cocoon too. There  _must_  be…"

" _Arm yourself with hatred._ "

Orphan rose up out of his position in the pool of inky liquid, revealing the massive blade-like base of the male form. Orphan rose up, brandishing the base and flipping upwards to make the blade aim downwards before they dropped. The Merciless Judgement attack blasted through the area with a large explosion that left the impact site filled with fire, smoke, and rocks from the magical blast that sapped away health even if you weren't at the epicenter of the hit. Merciless Judgement tore through the l'Cie, leaving most of them barely conscious. Had any of them been afflicted with Deprotect they'd have been taken out instantly, and had any of them had Poison, they wouldn't have had enough time to do anything to heal themselves before the Poison finished the rest of their health off.

Hope, Lightning, and Vanille were the fastest to start healing, while Fang and Snow went Sentinel into Mediguard to help prevent any more damage from preventing their recuperation. All of them had learned at least the most basic levels of Medic healing, but Hope, Lightning, and Vanille were the most experienced, with spells like Curaja to help heal them when they were at critical levels of health.

"I don't…what are we supposed to do?!" Sai snapped.

"They want you to give in to despair," Shu said. "Give in to despair and you will stop resisting Ragnarok's return. That's what they want. And us too. If we despair, we will be open to assisting in Ragnarok's return - we'll be pushed into doing anything to save ourselves, to save you all."

The others were healing and using Synergist spells to protect themselves, but their defensive measures would only last them so long. Orphan swept his large hand across the battlefield, whacking all of them hard even with Protect and Protectra spells helping lower the damage.

"What do we do…? What do we do, what do we do, what do we  _do?_ " Sai muttered.

"Sai," Charon announced suddenly. He snatched the l'Cie's hand, forcing Sai to look at him out of surprise. "I'm usually one to overthink things, I admit, but if I've learned  _anything_  these past few weeks, it's that thinking too hard with your mind will lead to your downfall. The answer is simple. Do what you know Rei would want you to do, not what  _you_  think is right or wrong or whatever. I ignored the voices of the ones that I loved thinking that I knew better, but all I ended up doing was hurting myself. When there are no good options, you have to follow your heart, not your head."

Sai looked back over to his comrades, desperately working to keep themselves alive despite their situation. In the end, they wanted to live, no matter that logic said that they shouldn't and couldn't fight Orphan if they wanted Cocoon to survive. Meanwhile, the white orb that Orphan had summoned before Merciless Judgement was hovering in the air, providing constant healing spells to Orphan despite the l'Cie having not laid a hand on him yet. Orphan used Requiem, where his male half put his hand up to his face before a laser shot out from his red eye. Orphan was fighting, whether they liked it or not.

Sai sucked in a deep breath. "Sometimes the only choices you have are bad ones, but you still have to choose."

He lowered his head, squeezing his eyes shut and gripping his weapons tight. Finally, he raised his head and opened his eyes to fix his gaze on Orphan.

"I choose to live and die as a human, not as a l'Cie, not as a servant of the fal'Cie, not as a servant of Pulse or a servant of Cocoon. I choose to be human, and maybe that will be my downfall…" He brandished his weapons. "…but I don't care. So be it."

He rushed forward to join the others.

"Debuffs now! Everything you can manage! Hope, Enfire! Fang, Vanille, we're gonna need all the tier-two Synergist spells you can manage, defensive  _and_  offensive!"

Each of them, one by one, met his eyes.

"You sure?" Lightning asked.

He nodded. "Sometimes the only choices you have are bad ones-"

"-but you still have to choose," she finished.

"What?" Hope asked.

"Amodar once told us that. Our commanding officer."

"He told  _all_  of us," Sai agreed. "As a warning. Whether or not you're fighting, there are going to be times when there's no obvious choice, when none of your options are ideal."

"But life will force us to choose," Lightning agreed. "And now we've chosen."

"All right then," Fang said solemnly.

"Let's go," Snow declared.

With a grim nod of approval, all of them began their assault. Half of the team went to Synergist while the other went to Saboteur - inflicting Deprotect, Deshell, Slow, Imperil, and Curse. Most of them took a few tries, but in the end their persistence paid off. The one thing they didn't manage was Poison, but they could live with it. Meanwhile the party was enhanced with every synergistic buff they had before they healed up any damage from the Requiem attacks.

They finally began their offensive assault, letting Fang handle the physical hits as a Commando while the rest of them went at Orphan with magical-based hits as Ravagers. It didn't take long to stagger him, and then everyone who could physically hit turned Commando while the others - basically just Hope and Vanille - continued to raise the stagger even further. Orphan's healing orb shattered upon their stagger, and the group unleashed their attacks. At that point, they were strong enough to do a great deal of damage to Orphan, but there was still hesitation in whether or not they should truly be doing this. Sai turned Medic and healed everyone up quickly just in case, and sure enough, Orphan rose up for Merciless Judgement once again, canceling his stagger status and striking them all the near-fatal blow once more.

" _Consummate Darkness_ ," Rei muttered. " _Opposite Extremes._ "

"Why is she doing that?" Charon asked. "She's dead."

"Her soul might be freed of Barthandelus's control, but her body is still connected to Barthandelus," Shu suggested. "Though Orphan doesn't have control over her directly like Barthandelus, he's still using Barthandelus's assimilated form. I don't even think Orphan means to have slightly control over her right now; it's happening naturally."

"So her corpse is walking around like this just spewing the things that Orphan's saying? Even  _I_  find that disturbing."

"Maybe it can help us…" Shu lifted themselves carefully, and despite his own exhaustion and confusion, Charon didn't ask questioned and helped Shu over the distance to where Rei was hovering, glassy-eyed. "It's possible we can use her connection to Barthandelus - and therefore Orphan - to our advantage. If she's accessing what moves he's using and what he's saying, that means she  _has_  to be patched into the network that is Orphan's mind. Maybe we can implant some thoughts of our own into Orphan."

"That seems like a  _terribly_  risky endeavor, Flower," Charon said flatly. "Let's do it."

Orphan summoned back its white orb on the feminine side along with a dark black orb on its masculine side - the former healing Orphan and he latter sending out small snakes of energy that attacked the party.

Renewing the buffs and debuffs necessary, they continued their assault once more.

" _Dies Irae,_ " Rei muttered.

"What's that?" Shu asked.

"It means, 'Day of wrath,'" Charon informed them.

The two hands of Orphan came together and summoned an orb of energy pulsing strong enough to warp the light around it, like a small supernova, before the two hands threw it outwards, causing it to pop like a deadly balloon and release a cloud of explosive gas towards the group. It was a stream of fire and heat and explosions, a giant storm of fire and electricity and energy that exploded outwards and overtook the whole room. Charon pulled Shu behind Rei so that the two of them had some protection, as Rei took no damage at all.

"Interesting. She's seemingly imbued with some of Orphan's immunities," Charon deduced. "Despite the damage she took earlier, her body's almost completely unaffected by damage - Orphan's or otherwise."

After the normal process of healing up and renewing debuffs that had worn off - and were stubbornly failing to reapply - the others continued the fight, while Charon began to sift through Rei's magical energies. Orphan retaliated with a weak Vile Exploitation while the others began working towards another stagger.

" _Chains of Torment,_ " Rei muttered.

"That doesn't sound good," Shu noted. The party was hit with negative status effects, which canceled out good ones and outright inflicted on some of them. "Called it."

" _Progenitorial Wrath_."

"What's that?"

"50/50 instant death move," Charon said.

"Oh…they should consider renaming that."

Orphan waved his hand and summoned an orb in his masculine hand before crushing it. Luckily, it didn't seem to do anything, but a 50 percent chance of instant death was nerve-wracking.

Charon grunted. "I was never very good at magical stuff. But here we…go."

He closed his eyes, tapping into Rei's power, before then opening them to reveal his left eye was green and his right eye was red, mimicking Orphan's appearance and mindset alike.

" _Cease this destruction…cease this distraction…cease…cease…_ "

Charon staggered back and released Rei, Shu quickly moving to help him stabilize despite only having one arm to do so.

"Chare?"

"I got him to hesitate," Charon said. "Hopefully that's enough. It's horrible in the mind of Orphan. Without humanity to dilute his thoughts, his single-minded goal is…overwhelming."

"Are you okay?"

He nodded. "I'll be fine."

The others managed a final stagger on Orphan, and with Charon causing confusion, Orphan hesitated and simply sat there while they attacked, dazed and confused. Charon couldn't tell if it was a good or a bad thing that they were winning. He couldn't even tell whether they were winning at all at the moment, the way Orphan's perpetual smile loomed in both of their faces.

The others finished out the stagger with Scourge and Smite depending on where they were at, but it was hard to tell if they'd affected Orphan at all.

"We've finished him," Shu said. "But…what does that mean?"

Orphan chuckled and began to rise. Charon worried that another Merciless Judgement was coming, but Rei hadn't said anything, and so he couldn't be sure until Orphan had fully risen up.

" _Exa-Graviton,_ " Rei muttered.

"What's tha-?"

Shu was interrupted as Orphan's entire body release a powerful pulse of energy that spanned the entire room. The air itself darkened with the intense energy he was releasing, and streams of dark purple magic whizzed around him, sucking even more life out of the air. They buzzed around and struck blindly, forcing everyone to take cover - though there was little to cover with, so the most they could do was hold their hands up and swat away whatever wisps came their way.

Everyone was knocked back from the intensity of the blast and forced to their knees. It was hard to tell which way was up; the air was shaking and the bog of black magic became so thick the floor could barely be distinguished from the rest of the air. Fang stabbed her lance into the ground in front of her to try and keep her footing, while Charon ducked down with Shu behind Rei and tried to block them from the brunt of the attack. All of them were assaulted as the intense aura in the air only grew stronger as they each began to fall.

In an instant, the air went white as the attacked ceased, but the damage had finished. Fang, Vanille, Charon, and Shu, were the only ones who had maintained consciousness to see as Orphan slowly descended once more.

" _Have you ever paused to consider our_ reason _for making l'Cie of men?_ " they asked. " _We fal'Cie are crafted for a single purpose, and granted_ finite _power to that end. With_ men _it is not so. Men dream, aspire, and through indomitable force of will, achieve the impossible._ Your _power is beyond measure. We_ take _l'Cie, that we might wield such strength. Through you, we obtained_ freedom _from our bondage. And now, your Focus alone remains._ " The masculine side of Orphan raised his hand, summoning an orb of energy to his index and middle fingers. " _Defy it, and all will be for naught._ " The orb of energy flashed and concentric rings formed around Vanille, Shu, and Charon - the latter two being trapped within the same rings that pulsed with Orphan's power and sent waves of electric pulses through them. " _Cocoon's sacrifice, and that of Gran Pulse as well._ "

Shu screamed and held their head with their hand while Charon grunted and felt a splitting headache along with his entire body convulsing against his will. He recognized the familiar power of Orphan from his short connection a moment ago, but he wasn't strong enough to counter it.

Vanille, who had risen to her feet, clutched her head in pain and was brought to her knees while Fang leaned against her lance - still weakened from Orphan's overwhelming gravity attack - a short distance away and shouted, "Vanille!"

" _Yet, if we but summon the Maker, we will be granted the chance to begin again._ All _our sins, absolved, and the world - born anew!_ "

Orphan raised his hand and then increased the intensity on the orbs at his fingertips. The two captive rings launched their occupants up into the air and denied them even the stability of solid ground to steady themselves.

" _Submit! Transform Ragnarok into a beast greater than ever before! Lead us into the light!_ "

"Stop it!" Fang cried.

Shu began chanting in fal'Cie tongue, unable to think straight and process language into human speech anymore. Charon could only half hear what they were saying, but it was along the lines of ' _Make it stop! Oh gods above and below, make it stop!_ '

Charon wiggled and squirmed with all he had, trying to work with his convulsions and use them to his advantage. He pushed against Shu with all his might, trying to knock them out of the ring of torture, but instead, he knocked  _himself_  out, leaving Shu up in the air far beyond his reach and screaming with a pain he could only barely comprehend. He had been slightly resistant to Orphan's torture thanks to his prior exposure, even if it wasn't enough for immunity, but Shu seemed to be getting the full brunt of the attack.

Unfortunately, the fall alone left Charon unable to move for a few seconds, and when he finally picked himself up, he knew he'd never have the energy to fly up to that height. Even if he did, he'd just get shocked again and probably knocked unconscious from just trying to reach out and touch Shu.

He saw drops of their blood and tears fall from above and Shu was writhing in every direction to try and lessen the pain but it was surrounding every aspect of them. Shu had once said that they didn't like electricity, and Charon felt like he was being stabbed with each wail.

"Let them go! Let them  _go!_ " he begged. His head hurt more from grief and helplessness than it did from his prior experience with Shu being tortured. At least he had been with Shu, at least they hadn't been alone. "Let them go and take me instead, dammit! Please! Stop it!  _Stop it!_ "

Orphan began speaking in fal'Cie tongue probably as a result of Shu's shift. " _Deliver unto us the great beast of Ragnarok, the creation stronger than that which failed us before._ "

"Fine! Fine, just stop it! I can do it! I know how! I'm the only one that knew! Just leave them out of this!"

" _Then transform the l'Cie to the destined Ragnarok._ "

Vanille was jolted with a wave of electricity, crying out and pulling her arms and legs in defensively. She put her hands to her head and tried twisting free, but her limbs were throwing outwards by another surge.

"I…I can't…they…she…they have to be willing," Charon said.

" _Then they might know despair._ "

"Let her go!" Fang begged.

Orphan's red eye on his male side glared down at her, switching back to human tongue. " _We have no need of_ flawed _l'Cie._ "

"Orphan!  _I'll_  do it!  _I'll_  destroy you."

Orphan's two faces smiled down at her. Vanille was violently released from her captive torture, tossed to the floor harshly to Fang's dismay, but at the very least she was free, and Orphan had turned their attention onto Fang instead. Shu was dropped as well, and Charon didn't have the strength to catch them. He winced as Shu hit the floor, but if even Vanille could survive the fall consciously, then hopefully even Shu in their weakened state could as well.

"Shu. Shu!" He quickly crawled his way over and grabbed them, propping them up in his arms. "Shu, answer me. Asushunamir!"

They were muttering something that Charon could barely understand. He realized it was because Shu wasn't speaking in the regular fal'Cie language anymore. They were speaking in a tongue that sounded familiar and resonated with Charon, but he still couldn't fully make out the words being said.

" _Ragnarok,_ " Orphan muttered. " _The will to guide a world unto oblivion. Can you bear the sins of our salvation?_ "

Fang lowered her head for a moment, looking back at the fallen Vanille, before raising her head. "You heard me." She stepped forward and swept her arm forward firmly. "I  _said_  I'll  _do it!_ "

"You can't!" Vanille cried from her position on the floor. "I'll be fine! And you  _can't_  forget our promise! We  _promised_  to  _save Cocoon!_  We  _promised!_ "

Vanille flinched as Fang pointed her weapon down to silence her. "I made another promise too. To  _protect_  my  _family_."

The others started to slowly regain consciousness just in time to see Fang walking up to Vanille with her weapon drawn.

"Fang?" Snow muttered.

"Sometimes…" Fang raised her lance behind her head. "…you gotta choose!"

Vanille flinched and dropped her head, squeezing her eyes shut.

Snow launched forward, wrapping his arms around Fang's lance and locking his arms so that he prevented her from moving it.

"Back off!" Fang shouted.

"What are you do-?!" Snow grunted as Fang attempted to rip her weapon free.

Fang was just as strong as Snow, if not stronger, but his larger frame and the position he'd grabbed her lance with allowed him to keep the weapon in his grasp despite how Fang pulled hard enough to cause him to stagger in his weakened state.

Fang's efforts were impeded further as she was grabbed from behind by Sazh. "This ain't the time to be losing it, lady!"

"You too, huh?!"

Lightning and Hope struggled to their feet and both stood in front of Vanille, stretching their arms out defensively while Sai helped Vanille to her feet as well.

"What do you gain from hurting Vanille?" Lightning demanded. "We're  _in_  this  _together!_ "

Despite everyone struggling to barely keep on their feet, they were determined to keep Fang from hurting anyone else.

She lowered her head. "This is  _my_  Focus.  _No one's_  gonna stop me."

Fang planted her feet and twisted her lance, threatening to strike Snow in the face and forcing him off. Without Snow to hold down half of her, Sazh was thrown off of Fang as she turned and kicked Snow away with a battle cry, sending him halfway across the room. Fang raised her lance and retracted the blades, facing the uncertain Lightning who was guarding both Vanille  _and_  Hope while also barely able to stay on her feet. She stood in front of Orphan, and it truly occurred to them that Fang had chosen her side. Sai moved Vanille behind him while Lightning stepped further center to block Hope and everyone behind him as well.

Fang braced herself and then jumped as high as she could into the air. At the peak of her jump, she chucked her lance up and kicked it high as she could. The tail of the feminine half of Orphan began to glow with wisps of energy, the crest of Lindzei on the end waving around to aim at Fang and imbue her with its power. She was launched even higher into the air before flipping head-first just as her lance came falling down in front of her. She grabbed it and activated the blades as she began to plummet.

"Get down!" Charon screamed.

Fang flipped upright again as she released a battle cry and struck the ground in front of the party, right where she had been standing before. The ensuing blast of energy sent them all flying back, and just before the light overtook the area, Charon could see the distinct transformation energy engulfing the l'Cie. Charon couldn't see it, but he heard a single female scream and a pulse of energy exploding.

When the light finally died down, there were five Cie'th left in place of their comrades - the only thing left behind were their weapons to identify which Cie'th had once been who. Vanille was the only one who had been spared, Sai having shielded her from the attack. Lightning's Cie'th swept her gunblade away; Sazh's pistols and Hope's Boomerang rested abandoned on the metal floor beside two more Cie'th. They were large, lumbering Cie'th, bigger and stronger than the thing shambling versions or the fliers, but they could hardly be called Undying Cie'th. They were left with nothing - no identities, no wills, no feelings except pain and regret and eternal torment.

"Rei…" Shu muttered.

Charon looked down to see Shu was looking over where Rei had been. She had been dropped from her hovering state, controlled unconsciously by Orphan, and she appeared to be fully awake and sentient. Her entire right arm had been transformed into the dark crystal of a Cie'th; it had overtaken her entire arm and crawled up to her torso, snaking up her neck with black vine-like veins growing on her skin. It looked as though the Cie'th state was slowly eating away at the rest of her, latched onto not just her skin, but all the way down to the core of her muscles and bones. Her eyes were glowing a deep red, and all that came out of her mouth were the warped sounds of a Cie'th voice. Even so, Charon could make out a word.

" _Sai…Sai…_ "

She was on her stomach, pulling herself forward by only her left hand that still remained in human form. She was heading towards Sai's Cie'th, which Charon realized was missing most of his right side. In the very places that Rei was growing Cie'th crystals, Sai had retained his human form. Rei's Cie'th moved with robotic determination, intent on reaching him even as he rose to his feet, pushing himself up with his large Cie'th arm. His head and neck had remained human, and same as Rei his eyes were red and lifeless.

"Is that…?" Charon muttered. "I…I guess…that happened because Rei and Sai shared a brand."

"She remembers him," Shu mumbled. "She remembers. She's…she made it."

"Everything I do…" Fang muttered, looking around to see the rising Cie'th descending upon her. " _Why?_  Is  _this_  what you meant to  _happen?!_ "

Lightning's Cie'th was the first to begin marching towards Fang. The others soon followed suit as, one by one, they rose with the distorted whine of the Cie'th and surrounded Fang.

"All of them…" Fang lowered her weapon in dismay as Orphan laughed behind her.

"After  _all_  we  _went_  through!" Vanille lamented, falling to her knees.

As the Cie'th closed in around her, Fang looked up weakly as she was struck by the first Cie'th, then another, then another, back and forth as they traded blows.

"Guess I deserve it, after what I did - ugh!" Fang was brought to her knees, her weapon clanging to the ground beside her as she coughed weakly. "Are  _they_  my sin to bear for choosing salvation?"

"Please…stop!" Vanille whimpered.

The Cie'th continued to strike at Fang, Snow's Cie'th reaching her last because he had been kicked so far away.

Sai's Cie'th, meanwhile, had been stopped by Rei, who used her human hand to grab his. She pulled herself to her feet, pulling at his hand to stop him from walking forward, which he continued trying to do so blindly.

"Ragnarok," Shu muttered. "The seal of the goddess has been broken."

The four Cie'th of the other l'Cie fell atop Fang, piling on top of her and crushing her under their weight.

"Stop it!" Vanille sobbed, shouting up at Orphan. The fal'Cie only laughed in response. "Give them  _back!_ " Vanille wailed.

From beneath the pile of Cie'th, Fang's brand flashed. She exploded with energy, sending the four Cie'th flying, to Vanille's shock as she narrowly avoided being crushed by the flying Cie'th herself. Fang rose to her feet unconsciously, looking to Orphan in confusion. She realized it was her brand that was fueling her with strength, and she looked down to see that it was glowing, returned to its original state and freed from its frozen white seal. Her final arrow had yet to grow, but as the light on her brand increased, the final arrow forced its way to completion and the eye in the center opened. Fang cried out in pain as her entire body was overtaken from the energy her brand was emitting; she was forced down to her knees as she was consumed by a dome of transforming energy stronger than that of a normal Cie'th transformation.

" _Salvation is born of sacrifice - miracles, of misery_ ," Orphan intoned.

When the light faded, Fang had revealed to be transformed into Ragnarok. Her entire body had been remade to be stronger and more resilient - black, leather-like skin with red and gold accents that mimicked Pulsian-style armor, a long tail stretching behind her, an explosion of hair spiked up all the way down her back with two strands hanging down her chest at either side of her head. Her entire body shimmered with energy, particularly her hair was lit up like a bioluminescent plant, and her eyes and teeth glowed with only a beast's intentions.

" _From shattered shards, a new crystal legend will arise!_ "

Fang's Ragnarok was still incomplete, and Charon knew it, but he wasn't sure what to say about it. Creating the complete Ragnarok was impossible now, and Orphan seemed to have forgotten that Ragnarok was incomplete with Fang alone.

Fang's Ragnarok charged at Orphan but was blocked by a shield and thrown away. Ragnarok focused its energies and then threw its arms out, explode with rage and pain. The aura around Ragnarok grew stronger, and it charged in once again to Vanille's dismay.

" _Yes!_ " Orphan cried. " _Let anger be your strength!_ "

Ragnarok launched up to Orphan's barrier, landing on it and holding on while Orphan laughed. Ragnarok summoned its power and head-butted the barrier, as if attempted it eat its way through.

" _Despair. Despair and save us all!_ "

The second time Ragnarok slammed its head against the barrier, it made its way through, tearing a small hole, which it then grabbed the edges of with both hands and ripped open completely, shattering the entire barrier in one go.

" _Lo! The Day of Wrath is come!_ "

Ragnarok's roar was overtaken by a screech from Sai and Rei's Cie'th together, their bodies glowing white as a bright light emanated from behind Orphan. All of the Cie'th in the room began glowing, along with Ragnarok, before everything turned completely white. Charon could barely make out the sound of rushing water, but as his eyes adjusted, he saw two streams of glowing blue water wrapping around Ragnarok, pulling it back from Orphan, and forcing its transformation. It was reverting back into Fang.

Images flashed through Charon's mind; the visions flashed through everyone who had humanity within them, humanity that had been threatened, taken away, challenged - including all of the transformed Cie'th.

_Hope, confronting Snow about his mother's death and attempting to exact revenge. Snow saved Hope as he was thrown from the exploding building after the Skytank's attack. Snow didn't even hesitate to save the boy who had just tried to take his life_.

_Vanille raising her arms for Sazh to take his revenge for what happened to Dajh. Sazh lowered his pistols, unable to kill Vanille, knowing that her own guilt was punishment enough. Turning his weapon on himself out of despair, but unable to end his own life either, because he had to live with his sorrow same as Vanille did_.

_Snow, raising his arms in surrender to show himself to a firing squad. He was trying to tell them that Cocoon was his home, no matter what he was and what he had been ordered to do by the fal'Cie_.

_Lightning, all the way back at Lake Bresha, striking Snow down for his arrogance as he claimed to protect Serah when she had transformed into a crystal. In the end, what finally stopped Lightning was Snow saying that he would do whatever it took to help her - he hadn't given up on her yet, and Lightning didn't want to either. She wasn't mad at Snow, she was mad at herself for not being able to hold onto hope like he could_.

_Charon and Rei, facing off in the skies above the Palamecia. Charon and Shu screaming at each other out of frustration and rage that neither of them wanted and neither of them could be rid of. Shu hissing at Rei during their confrontation in Oerba. Sai and Rei simply holding each other's hands, staring down at their united brand. Sai cutting Rei down on the beaches of Oerba, feeling his own heart torn apart. Charon and Shu bickering about each other getting into danger. Rei hugging Sai one last time before the life drained out of her eyes_.

_All of the teasing and sobbing and screaming and laughing and loving and embracing. Through it all, there had been love. All of it had been born of love, even the most sorrowful of moments, and all of it had ended with kindness_.

* * *

_Anger didn't drive us. We just…had things worth fighting for._

* * *

Crystal shards filled the air. They floated up from Fang, covered in a light layer of crystal like a cocoon that had returned her to her normal state. She slowly stirred as the final crystal fragments lifted into the air from her skin. Her brand had once again been frozen in stasis.

" _Yet again,_ " Orphan muttered. " _How many times must you fail?_ "

Charon opened his eyes to see Styx standing above him. For a moment, he didn't believe it. He blinked a couple times, trying to focus his eyes.

"Charon, you okay?"

He blinked. "Sai?"

He was standing above Charon, returned to his normal state. That itself was impressive enough, but standing beside him was Rei.

"Rei…" Shu muttered. "Sister…"

They reached up their hand to her, and she knelt down to take it. "Shh, my little gem. It's okay."

She closed her eyes and summoned healing magic to her palms, transferring it into Shu. They flinched as their arm began to grow back, starting with plants growing down in the shape of the bones and then building up with more and more like the muscle was growing in. The greenery turned silver as each layer was added on, before finally the thin layer of skin topped it off, and Shu's arm had finished. They looked down at it and carefully flexed their fingers.

"It tickles," they commented.

"It's adjusting to your mental commands," Rei explained. "Don't worry. You'll adjust soon enough."

"Hehe, look Charon. Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle."

Shu played with their hand and fingers, flexing their elbow. Charon couldn't help but be amused despite the situation they were in. It was just like Shu to try and make him smile at a time like this.

Orphan's female half brought her hand to her mouth, summoning blue healing magic and then blowing it forward, sweeping the spell down towards Fang. Fang twitched before she regained consciousness, sitting up and putting her hand to her forehead.

Both of Orphan's hands rose, summoning black orbs of energy that were charged with Orphan's power. They aimed downwards at Fang, who was overtaken by two containment rings, one holding each of her arms, which lifted her into the air in front of Orphan.

"Let me go…" she protested weakly.

" _Retake the form of Ragnarok,_ " Orphan demanded. " _Deliver us that which we have too long been denied!_ "

Orphan's masculine half charged up his electric energy in his palm and then shot it toward Fang, who had no choice but to scream in pain with nowhere to go and no strength to fight back. Once the damaging attack was done, Orphan's feminine half healed her once more.

"What do you  _want…?_ " Fang muttered.

She was struck again by the male half's damaging electric attack before being healed once more. And again. And again.

" _Steep yourself in hatred. Let it infuse your soul with the strength it craves._ "

"We have to help her," Charon declared. "But…how do we stop a being that  _wants_  to be killed?"

"Simple," Rei said. "We give him  _exactly_  what he wants, but we put it on  _our_  terms. Sai?"

He nodded, closing his eyes and lowering his head. He spread his arms, summoning four pillars of water that grew and molded into humanoid form. It took Charon a moment, but he realized that they were taking the forms of his friends - the l'Cie who had transformed into Cie'th. As the water molds fully formed, Sai opened his eyes to reveal they were glowing purple. The shimmering people began to release flakes of crystal fragments that floated up into the air, joining the others floating about the room. Slowly but surely, Lightning, Hope, Sazh, and Snow, were rebuilt as the final crystal fragments left their bodies and only their human forms remained.

"How did…?"

Rei pointed to Orphan - or rather, what was  _behind_ , Orphan. Orphan couldn't see it, but behind them was an eye-shaped structure, shimmering like a ghostly mirage.

"Etro's Gate," Shu and Charon recited at the same time.

Neither knew how they knew of it, but both of them instinctively knew that it was Etro's Gate, and that her blessings were bleeding through.

"It means, we have a chance," Rei said. "Let's not waste it."

Rei waved her hand, revealing a veil was separating all of them from Orphan and the battlefield. They were still in a state of half-being, held in a realm of in-between, hidden by Etro's powers because they were being healed and remade by her power. They were hidden from Orphan's eyes, who was incapable of even sensing Etro's power because he was a fal'Cie and therefore untouched by anything that might connect him to her.

"We have one surprise attack against Orphan's shell, after that, we'll have to face Orphan himself."

"Does that mean…when we go back, you'll be gone again?" Shu muttered lightly.

Rei looked down at them before smiling gently. She leaned down and caressed their face with her hand. "Be strong, little one. I will always be here for you. Save the world first, and then we'll talk about what comes after." She kissed their forehead and Shu felt power surging through themself and saw that the others were being surrounded by the same power; each of the l'Cie opened their eyes and began to take in their surroundings. Rei began to fade as the veil of Etro's power faded with her. " _Good luck_."

Vanille rose to her feet, walking forward to face Orphan alone.

" _Your awakening demands an offering of pain!_ " Orphan said, summoning another wave of damaging magic to the male's large palm.

"Vanille…" Fang panted. "…run…"

"No!" Vanille shouted, her voice on the verge of breaking. "I  _swore_  I wouldn't run away  _anymore!_  I'd rather fight  _and lose_  than give up without  _even_  trying!"

"Let's give them some fireworks, eh?" Charon suggested.

Orphan reared his hand back for an attack, but then a wisp of pure magic flew in and struck Orphan right in the chest of its male half. It exploded in a ball of fire, and another three magic blasts were thrown in quick succession right after the first, lighting Orphan ablaze in a screaming mass of destruction.

Fang was flung away as Orphan was attacked, tossed far across the room as Vanille turned and chased after her. "Fang!"

She was thrown faster than Vanille could run, but Fang was caught just in time by Snow, to Vanille's utter bafflement.

"Miracles out of misery…" Sazh muttered, raising his pistols. "You have  _got_  to be kidding me."

Vanille's hands went to her mouth in shock as she looked around at her restored comrades.

"Yeah, Fang," Hope said, waving a healing spell over her. "Who'd be dumb enough to swallow  _that_  crock?"

"Those fools don't know the first  _thing_  about miracles," Sai declared. He swung a sword that was revealed to be Zanmato towards Orphan, dealing a fatal blow to the dying shell of Orphan's parents.

Snow gently set Fang on her feet again, and she was just as surprised to see everyone was up and about.

"Sure, we've  _all_  had better weeks," Lightning said, walking forward with her gunblade drawn in gun form and aimed at Orphan, Fang's lance in her other hand.

"You're alive!" Vanille exclaimed.

"But you  _can't_  be…" Fang exclaimed.

"Could be more fal'Cie smoke and mirrors," Shu suggested, hefting their large blade over their shoulder.

"Or it could be some good old-fashioned miracles," Charon corrected, summoning his Kozuka to his side once more and sheathing them all in his clothes.

Sai tossed Charon back his Zanmato, and Charon looked into the blade, seeing Styx smiling back up at him. She closed her eyes and dissolved into smoke, vanishing into the blade's shimmering colors.

"Or smoke and mirrors," Charon conceded. "Maybe we're all just…smoke and mirrors."

Snow stepped forward. "Fang, I'm sorry."

"We made you go it alone," Lightning agreed, holding up Fang's lance to her.

"Second time now, isn't it?" Fang said, shaking her head in disappointment, but she couldn't help the smile on her face as she accepted her lance from Lightning.

The two women nodded at each other as Lightning released Fang's weapon into her grip, accepting Fang as a part of their team despite all she had done. All of them had made mistakes, really, but they were still in it together, till the very end.

"But…" Vanille struggled for words, wringing her hands together in front of her. "Where  _were_  you?"

"Somewhere cold and dark," Hope said, "just thinking about everything that happened up until now. And then…and then it was like…"

"It was like…I had a  _glimpse_  of the  _future_ ," Snow continued. "Everyone was…smiling…and laughing." He pulled out his crystal tear. "Even Serah." He chuckled. "Even Light."

Lightning looked over at him. She wasn't angry, and she was hardly shocked because she had seen it too. She was afraid of getting her hopes up, thinking about a future where she could be with Serah, where she could be happy enough to smile and laugh again.

"I don't know," Sazh said. "It was a… _new Focus_ , or…something. You know…I'm thinking…didn't really make  _sense_  of course. I mean, knowing we were worm bait and all, but…" He tapped his head and his chocobo chick popped out, safe and sound to Vanille's delight as she waved hello to it. "As luck would have it, next thing I know I feel somebody pushing me right along."

"You were there too, Fang," Lightning added. "Same side. All of us. Together to the end."

"One, big, happy, confusing family," Shu smiled.

"Your turn," Sai said.

He clasped his hands together and summoned a layer of crystal onto his hands. He held them out to both Fang and Vanille, who shared a smile before each taking one of his hands.

_Fang and Vanille on Gran Pulse, after Fang figured out the truth about Vanille's lies to her. Despite that, Fang wasn't angry, pulling the crying Vanille into a hug. "Listen, you're not alone anymore. We have a new family now. We stick together, you hear me?" Vanille nodded. "_ Yes. I promise."

The two of them opened their eyes as the final crystal fragments on Sai's hands flew off into the air.

"We promised, didn't we?" Vanille reminded Fang.

Fang smiled and nodded back.

"Time to make good on that promise, eh?" Charon asked. "We've got a job to finish."

He nodded over to the dying Orphan - or at least Orphan's shell. Both voices were screaming out as they sank back into the metallic pool of liquid, melting, losing their color and form to return from whence they came.

"Right," Lightning muttered. She drew her gunblade and walked forward, taking the lead.

Each of their brands were revealed to have been halted by Etro's power, frozen in stasis just as Fang's was.

_The brand of a l'Cie. The symbol of the Focus we all faced. The mark of the fate we all shared. Proof of the promise we all made_.

Orphan's large hand slammed into the metallic floor, attempting to pull itself backup, but it dissolved into the metal and was pulled down.

"The heroes  _never_  die," Snow declared, pumping a fist. "Come on. We've got a world to save."

Shu giggled. It was good to have Snow's optimism back, no matter how cheesy he was.

"If we have the power to  _destroy_  Cocoon, then we have the power to  _save_  it!" Hope declared. "You say you want your Day of Wrath, do ya? Well it's coming right up!"

"Time we gave the people…what they really want," Sazh said.

Orphan's shell fully sank into the pool of liquid. "Bye, bye, ugly thing," Shu said.

Vanille held her hands together in her small prayer, before raising her head with a smile. "We can do it." She looked over to each of her friends, who all nodded to her one by one - Snow giving a smirk and a thumbs up. "I  _know_  we can. We made it  _this_  far."

Lightning nodded to her, pensive as she still considered their predicament, but she was standing with them nonetheless. Because now she had hope. She had the optimism against her fate that Snow had so desperately been trying to teach her. She was ready to start fighting the odds, no matter how impossible it seemed. "Right."

"Let's make a real miracle happen!" Vanille finished.

Fang chuckled and stepped forward, spinning her weapon into a battle stance. "Lady Luck sure ain't on  _his_  side!"

"Honestly, I'm not sure Lady Luck gets a say anymore," Charon sighed.

"Oh hush, you," Shu chided.

Sai tossed Vanille her rod, and she flicked it open with one final nod.

"Here it comes," Sai said.

"Get ready for the fireworks," Charon said.

"I wonder what Orphan looks like," Shu muttered.

A high-pitched laughter rang out from the pool of liquid, and a bright light began emerging from the depths, same as how Orphan had first appeared. This time, instead of the duel figure of Orphan's parents, a large spinning wheel emerged, face up so that it was horizontal and ticking like a clock. The spikes around the edges were all the crest of Lindzei, and the faces of Lindzei were spinning in little disks around the second layer of the clock's wheel - like cogs in a machine. It was similar to the halo that had been surrounding the female half of the former version of Orphan, and in the very center was the cherub-like face of the child that had been sleeping within Orphan's former shell. Orphan was positioned so that he was in front of Etro's gate, the eye-like structure behind the wheel a cool design if it weren't for the fact that Orphan was such a pain in the ass.

Orphan rose to be vertical and face the group, the brand of Lindzei on his forehead with the small crown. His eyes finally opened to reveal nothing but white sclera with no pupils, hardly something that was surprising when it came to fal'Cie.

" _You overreach yourselves,_ " Orphan said, his voice young and yet booming.

"No," Lightning declared. " _We_  overreach  _you_."

" _Is that so?_ "

"You don't believe in anything." Lightning walked forward. "You gave up on  _life_  before you were even  _born_. Sat poisoning Cocoon from the inside, waiting for someone to come and destroy you. Sure, you think the end of the world is  _salvation_. All you care about is death's release. So  _take_  it! And leave the  _rest_  of us alone!

"We don't think like that. When we think there's no hope left, we keep looking until we  _find_  some. Maybe Cocoon  _is_  past saving, but it's our home. And we'll protect it or die  _trying!_ " Lightning pointed her gunblade towards Orphan. "We live to make the impossible  _possible!_   _That_  is our Focus!"

Orphan roared with his child-ish voice combined with the metallic ring of a fal'Cie, before he simply gave them a wide grin.


	48. To Greet a New Dawn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's over!
> 
> Hallelujah!
> 
> Oh my gods!
> 
> Well, I mean, I might do an epilogue if I feel so inclined, but still! Main storyline is dooooooone!
> 
> This has been so much fun to write and I can't wait to finish out the trilogy. I have few words. I'm tired, spent time making these last three chapters. Christmas is here, friends. I have finals, I have Christmas concert, I have a musical in the spring starting in January, it's all going on but for now I need to relax.
> 
> See y'all, enjoy, woot!
> 
> :)

"Find your  _own_  road to hell!"

" _Use your_ wrath!" Orphan's head moved around like it was floating on water, and it cast Doom on the nearest person - which was Lightning in this case.

They quickly found Orphan was immune to all damage, but Sai, Charon, and Shu came together with a plan.

"Just get us a stagger and we'll handle the rest," Charon said.

"He can still be hit with debuffs and he's still got a stagger in him," Sai agreed. "Prepare yourselves for an onslaught by the time we get the stagger. We don't want to give him a chance to recover afterwards."

Orphan's head rolled back, being a spherical attachment to the rest of him, and revealed a large gray mouth - teeth and all - that opened up and screeched across the battlefield. First things first for the party were buffs and debuffs, as well as preparing a proper stagger in the meantime. Orphan's head flipped back and this time it revealed a large hand that looked to be made of some kind of gelatinous black goo which Orphan could control. It swiped across the field blindly, sending everyone in its path flying.

"What the hell was  _that_  supposed to be?!" Charon exclaimed.

" _That_  was gross!" Shu said.

Orphan used Necrosis, which summoned pools of dark energy that climbed up its target and inflicted Pain and Fog, which slowed them down when it came to recovering from it, but in the end all Orphan's attacks could do was buy him time. Kaleidoscopic Ray had him rolling his head back to summon an eye which locked on to someone and then shoot an enormous geyser of fire and energy to do damage.

" _Use your rage_."

"Almost there!" Shu called.

"We've got Deprotect and Deshell at the very least; Fang and Vanille have gotten Bravera and Faithra, and Hope and Sazh had gotten Haste," Sai reported. "Not much in the way of defense."

"A necessary sacrifice," Charon said. "Get ready! Snow! Hit it!"

Snow threw Orphan an Aero spell to activate the stagger, while Charon and Shu summoned a white orb of energy and then Sai launched it forward to join Snow's spell. The entire area flashed white and Orphan disappeared.

When the light vanished and Orphan was revealed, the wheel had disappeared and Orphan gained…arms? Lindzei's symbol hung as accessories on chains from each of Orphan's little arms, while Orphan's head had been preserved and attached to a new body, resembling that of some kind of insect with a wiggling tail that had another brand of Lindzei on it in gold. He was now held within a giant white structure rather than his wheel that also resembled the shape of Lindzei's crest, like angel wings or some kind of weird heart shape. Above where Orphan's head and face had been placed, Lindzei's actual crest and symbol loomed, and surrounding Orphan were some sort of engravings with an infinity symbol at the top.

"Well…it worked," Shu said.

"I'm not really sure what I expected, but that was not it," Charon said.

Fang ran forward and Launched Orphan up into the air, now that his form had changed so that they were capable of not only damaging him, but also using Launch. Orphan, unlike all other enemies, continued trying to cast spells even as he was launched, but with Deprotect and Deshell plus Bravera and Faithra, Orphan stood no chance.

"I'ma just let  _them_  handle this one," Shu said.

"Yeah, I…don't think they need our help," Charon agreed.

Orphan began to scream, his eyes and mouth emitting a bright light as the rest of him began to destabilize. His energies started turning against him, exploding and breaking apart the rest of his body in an enormous shower of fire and heat.

"We're here to  _stop_  him," Lightning said. "We've come to save Cocoon, right?"

"Right!" everyone responded.

"Okay, Orphan's down," Shu said. "What now?"

"Hold on to your lunches," Sai said.

He held his hand forward and Etro's Gate opened the eye in the center, revealing a void within that became charged with light and overtook the area.

By the time they could see again, they found themselves hovering in the air above Eden. Etro's Gate was hovering high above them in the sky, crystal fragments raining throughout the entire city, possibly even the whole of Cocoon. Edenhall imploded beneath them, collapsing in on itself and sealing off the entrance to Orphan's Cradle.

Up above, Phoenix's light flickered, and the sun of Cocoon went out. Down below, the city of Eden - no,  _all_  of Cocoon - flickered out. Kujata the power plat fal'Cie died, and along with all of the other fal'Cie, Cocoon quickly lost all power. The whole world went dark, but from the depths of the collapsing Edenhall, the end of Cocoon signaled a light to appear down below. Etro's Gate remained above them as they began to float up into the air.

"What's happening?!" Shu asked.

"They're turning to crystal!" Charon shouted. "Maybe because they turned Cie'th and returned, maybe because their brands were frozen, but the process has been delayed!"

Indeed, lining all of their bodies was a distinct pattern of crystallization, slowly spreading and becoming more and more present.

"We have to get out of here!" Shu shouted.

"Stay together!" Lightning called.

"Hey! Grab my hand!" Sazh ordered.

"Okay!" Hope shouted, reaching for Sazh.

Lightning grabbed onto Hope's other hand while Snow grabbed onto Sazh. Charon flew over and grabbed Sai, who was floating in the wrong direction by random chance, and helped him over to the others, where he grabbed Lightning's hand. Charon also helped Shu over to grab Sai's hand, as Shu was still having trouble guiding themself when they didn't have a solid lift off - and that included being magically teleported into the air.

"Fang! Vanille!" Snow screamed.

The two of them were floating further and further away from the rest of the group. Charon saw a third person between the two girls, grabbing each of their hands and pulling them together. Her body was leaking crystal fragments, and her body was beginning to glow.

"Rei?" Shu muttered. "Rei!"

Charon grabbed Shu's hand connected to Sai's and fed power into their plant bracelet, latching the two of them together. "Stay with Shu, keep them safe until I get back, all right?"

"Charon?" Shu whispered.

He leaned down and kissed them, not short, but not nearly long enough. "I'll keep my promise, Flower."

With that, Charon turned and flew away towards the girls.

"Charon!" Shu attempted to push themself in their direction, but they found themself latched to Sai by their own vines, darkened to black and under Charon's direct command. "What-?"

"Hold on!" Sai warned before he started thrusting the group upwards and away from the others.

Shu would ponder how that was possible at a later date. For now, they just struggled to fly in the opposite direction, but was somehow being overpowered by Sai.

"No! Wait! Stop! Charon!  _Charon!_  Rei! Please! Come back!"

Charon offered his hands and both Fang and Vanille took them, creating a square with Rei and Charon across from each other and Fang and Vanille across from each other.

"Creation and Destruction, life and death," Rei said. "The key to making the perfect Ragnarok is to have multiple willing participants - both l'Cie and servants of the goddess. And one more thing. For Ragnarok to be perfect-"

"-the l'Cie will have full control over their actions and their power," Charon finished. "Cocoon is destroyed, even without Ragnarok's summoning. But we can still use it, for our own needs this time. If you're willing to help." He looked to Fang and Vanille in turn.

"Vanille?" Fang asked.

 _Wishes_ can _come true. But…not if you just wait for miracles_.

Vanille nodded. "Ready."

 _Miracles are things we make for ourselves. Here and now_.

The two brands on the l'Cie began to glow brighter and brighter with a light so intense that it seemed to light the whole of Eden. The other l'Cie looked down in confusion - in some of them, dread even.

"Let's make use of some of these monsters running rampant in Eden," Rei said, before she and Charon raised their heads, their eyes glowing with the same intensity as Fang and Vanille's brands.

In a flash, all of the monsters in Eden were transformed into ashes, which were all sucked into the epicenter of where the four of them had disappeared. The ashes gathered and reshaped themselves into a new being - a Ragnarok with four main arms, a dozen extra arms similar to Hecatoncheir rather than just hair, a crown similar to Alexander's, frills like Brynhildr's, enormous teeth, sharp and pointed, and it was at least twice as tall and resilient as the Ragnarok made by Fang alone. Complete Ragnarok landed on one of the buildings and then stood at full height, releasing a loud roar that had once haunted the l'Cie in their vision of the future when they had first been given their Focus.

Cocoon was plummeting, and the base of the planet was beginning to heat up from the speed it was falling. Down below the floating city of Eden were the barren lands that were melting into molten lava and rock. Ragnarok charged and dived off the edge of Eden to dive right towards it. Though it had to tolerate a couple impacts from rocks, it eventually dived right into the lava with a small splash.

For a moment, nothing happened, but then the lava began to explode outwards, taking the shape of large hands, and eventually it was revealed that the lava was mimicking Ragnarok itself, expanding an even larger version of the beast. Ragnarok concentrated and forced itself to get even bigger, taking all of the lava and heat from Cocoon's fall to stretch its arms out further, wrapping around the entire lower half of Cocoon and summoning lava that had already fallen to Pulse to rise back up and meet the falling lava half way. The waves of lava spread upwards like a tidal wave, all across the intact part of Cocoon - specifically avoiding going around Hanging Edge where Cocoon was scarred from the War of Transgression. Ragnarok kept pushing, more and more lava forming and wrapping around Cocoon as Ragnarok's image almost seemed to be trying to hold Cocoon upon its very back.

And then, everything exploded.

With one final roar from Ragnarok, it turned to crystal, taking with it all of the lava that it had assimilated into its being. The lava that had been connecting Gran Pulse and Cocoon now solidified and created a giant pillar that held Cocoon up, and the crystal dust that drowned Oerba was pulled by the winds to surround the pillar and strengthen the crystal even further. It wrapped around all of the lava that Ragnarok had put into place, freezing it to crystal right then and there, forming strings of crystal as the lava flowed as liquid.

Within the crystalizing lava, the voices of Fang and Vanille could be heard as two humanoid figures swam through the chaos.

* * *

Rei held her hand out to Etro's Gate. She felt Etro's will reaching out to her, but it was slowly fading. The goddess had stretched her limits, she had done so much to help, but it was taking its toll. She needed to close the gate a soon as possible.

"Time to go now."

The gate shimmered, consuming Rei in its light as she felt the familiar pull of traveling through time.

"I've done my work. Don't worry, I remembered the others too. I sent them home, wherever that may be."

Rei felt the will of the goddess tugging on her once more.

"Really? Well…I suppose he'll be happy to hear that, anyway."

* * *

"Let go of me! Let go of me gods dammit!"

Shu was struggling to pull against Sai, but they were still firmly latched together by Shu's vines, and somehow, Sai was able to walk at normal speeds against a struggling Shu. Not only would a normal struggling passenger impede someone, but a struggling passenger with the strength of a fal'Cie should've utterly blindsided Sai.

"Don't make me transform! Cuz I will if you don't let me go!"

"No, you won't."

"Huh?! What do  _you_  know?! Let me  _go_ , Sai! What the hell is happening to you?!"

"We're almost there."

"Almost? We've been walking for  _hours!_  What in the name of Etro is going  _on?!_ "

"There."

"What? What is so-?"

Shu paused when they saw what Sai was looking at. Standing in the empty plains of Gran Pulse were four crystal statues of four different people. As they got closer, Shu recognized Sazh's distinct afro, Lightning's hair swept all to the left of her head, Hope's short hair that seemed to stick out in the back, and Snow's long hair unconcealed by his bandana.

"They're here. They're okay!"

"One last blessing," Sai muttered.

He closed his eyes and Shu suddenly felt their hand released from Sai's. His entire body flashed, glowing with the familiar blue-white aura as his body transformed into crystal, and a base grew at his feet to support him as he was held a few inches off the ground, his hands clasped in front of him as though in prayer.

"Sai?" Shu muttered. "No, no, no, no…! No! You can't leave me alone! How could you?! How  _dare_  you?! How dare you all leave me! Why?! Why…!"

Shu fell into the dirt, sobbing into the short grass and causing it to grow around them as though to comfort them.

"No! No they all left me! Why would they all leave me! How could they…?!"

' _Wake up._ '

Shu jumped, looking around frantically. "Vanille?"

The crystals all began to glow faintly, before each of them released the humans - the crystal bases crumbling to dust in an instant. Their clothes reappeared fully intact (thank goodness), and all five of them breathed heavy breaths of surprise to be dropped on their feet again, free of their crystal form.

"You're back…" Shu muttered. "You're back!"

Lightning looked at her hands in awe before she looked up and noticed Cocoon in front of her, framed by the rising sun of Gran Pulse - not an artificial sun like Phoenix, but a real sun.

"They did it," she whispered. "They saved the world."

"No, they gave us a  _new_  one," Snow said.

Lightning turned to see her comrades restored behind her as well.

Sazh scoffed in amazement at the sight of the pillar. "That's one gift I'll forgive 'em for not wrapping."

Hope chuckled. "Yeah."

' _This is as much as we can do. The rest…is up to you._ '

"Does this mean we…completed our Focus?" Hope asked.

"Cocoon's seen better days, that's for sure," Snow admitted.

"Yeah, and I'd say that qualifies as a demolition," Sazh agreed. "Focus complete."

Fang's scoff could be heard through the air. ' _Whatever you wanna believe._ '

Lightning gave a light 'tsk.' "It really  _is_  a miracle."

Shu sighed. "Yeah, a miracle. I've nearly died from stress, but it's a miracle all right."

"Defeating Orphan was what completed your Focus," Sai said. "I guess the Focus was specific enough to believe that Orphan's defeat was a guaranteed destruction of Cocoon. No one could've predicted this would happen except for the goddess herself."

The chocobo chick flew from Sazh to Shu, jumping on their head and dancing around and trying to cheer them up.

Shu chuckled. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was just really worried for a second there."

"Sorry," Sai said. "I probably should've explained better, but I was in a rush."

Shu rose to their feet. "Yeah, you  _should've_  done some explaining, mis…ter."

Shu blinked when they saw Sai's eyes had changed. They were a deep purple, vibrant and beautiful and definitely not his pretty blue ones. And they had no pupils.

Shu squeaked. "What happened to your eyes?"

He sighed. "If you'd just let me explain-"

"No, wait, hold on a moment, why did you…how did you…what is…argh!"

"Just calm down at let me speak. All of you." Shu pouted but waved for him to go on. "Rei managed to use the Etro's Gate in order to return to the world of the living, and through some juggling she managed to bring with her the gifts of the goddess. The first thing she did was restore all of you from your Cie'th states and revert Ragnarok back from Fang. Then, she gave me the powers of Styx in order to help better help you."

"Styx…" Shu repeated.

He nodded. "These are her eyes. Styx was blind. Her physical form was something she had to create herself, and therefore she gave herself proper eyes, but she never truly needed to use them. She was a river, an observer, a listener. With her gone, the balance was disrupted between the four important fal'Cie. And so Rei needed to choose someone to pass her power onto here in the living world."

Shu smiled. "I wouldn't have anyone else, really. But you  _were_  kind of a jerk back there."

" _You_  try being a human with a finite lifespan and memory space and then have the powers of an infinite, immortal deity implanted on you after the trauma of being turned into a Cie'th while also thrown into the stress of trying to save the world and all your friends and still stay patient and relaxed."

"Fair enough."

Hope looked down at his arm, pulling aside the bandana he wore on his wrist. "My brand! It's gone!"

Lightning turned to him in surprise before placing her hand over her chest where her brand had previously been to find that she didn't feel it anymore. Sazh looked down at his chest and found no brand peaking out from his shirt, while Snow held up his arms and saw only his bare skin. Even Lightning couldn't help her smile and sigh of absolute relief and joy. Hope chuckled, while Sazh laughed and threw his arms out in celebration.

"As I said," Sai smirked. "One last blessing."

' _It's easy to lose sight of things in a world as wide as this one. But if you keep going, you're sure to find what you're looking for - sooner or later._ '

Shu looked up at the crystal pillar. They wondered if the others could hear Vanille and Fang, or if it was just Shu and maybe Sai.

"Now  _this one_  wasn't mine," Sai said. "You can thank Rei this time."

Slightly hidden by the glare of the sun, there were figures walking towards them in the distance. The group looked on in awe, almost unable to believe what they were seeing.

"An', an', an' there was this whole big bunch of chocobos there!"

"There was, was there?"

"How fluffy were they?"

" _Suuuuuper_  fluffy!"

Sazh stuttered, trying to look closer to make sure he wasn't mistaking it. "It…" His chocobo flew out of his hair and surged off ahead of him.

"Hey, look there."

There was a small gasp as the figures hurried their pace, and there was no mistaking it.

"Serah!" Snow called, rushing forward to meet her.

"It  _is_ ," Lightning said.

"Dajh!" Sazh cried, running forward to embrace his son.

"Daddy!"

"Snow!"

"Serah!"

The Snow pulled Serah into a hug and spun her around while Sazh laughed heartily at having his son back, with the chocobo chick flying around them and squeaking in celebration.

"You're all right, aren't you?" Sazh asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" Dajh replied.

"Rei! Charon!"

Shu surged forward and tugged them both into a tight hug, holding them with an iron grip to make sure that they were real and that they weren't going anywhere.

"Told you they'd go for both of us at the same time," Charon muttered.

"Never doubted you for a second," Rei chuckled. "Hey, little gem, come on. Let us see your face."

"No!" Shu sobbed. "I'm an utter wreck right now thanks to you two, worrying me like that!"

Charon rolled his eyes and pushed Shu off of him, taking their face into his hands and wiping away their tears with his thumbs. "You're still handsome, even when you're crying your eyes out, Flower."

Shu sniffled. "You're rude," they muttered.

"And yet you love me anyway."

"I couldn't  _possibly_  fathom why." Shu wiped their eyes. "You owe me a  _lot_  of ice cream for that scare, you hear me?"

Charon chuckled. "I'll buy you all the ice cream you want, deal? It might take some time, of course, considering that I have a bit of an important job now."

Shu sniffled again. "What?"

"He's head of the government now," Rei reminded them. "Cocoon might be saved, but restoration and rebuilding are gonna take some time. The people have lost trust in the fal'Cie as well, and they might not be happy to learn that another fal'Cie is taking over."

Shu heaved a heavy sigh. "Can't you just quit and we can all just run off together into the sunset?"

He laughed. "I'd love to, Flower, but first I need to make sure that whoever is left in charge has the people's best interests at heart and has the skills needed to do so."

Shu sighed. "Whatever. As long as you don't  _ever_  pull a stunt like that again!"

Charon pulled Shu into a hug. "Never, Flower. So long as I can help it."

Hope ran forward and looked across the empty field, but no one else was coming behind them. Snow and Serah excitedly spoke to each other, Shu turned from Charon and nearly tackled Rei in a hug, and Sazh knelt down to lift Dajh onto his shoulders with the chocobo chick resting in Dajh's hair.

Despite the happy scene in front of him, Hope hung his head. "They're gone, aren't they?"

Lightning wrapped her arm over his shoulder while Sai reached out to do the same from the other side. "Hey…"

Hope lifted his head. "I guess they meant for this to be goodbye. Then again, we've changed our fates before."

Sai smiled. "Don't give up hope, kiddo. You never know in this life. You really don't."

"Come on," Serah urged, taking Snow's hand and pulling him back towards Lightning.

Lightning, in turn, stepped forward, leaving Hope to Sai, and then finally hugged her sister.

"I missed you," Serah said, her voice breaking.

"Serah…I'm sorry."

She pulled back, smiling on the verge of tears. "It's okay."

Snow hurried forward and wrapped his arm over Serah's shoulder, pulling her back to both of their surprise, with Lightning giving a genuine ' _What the hell, Snow?_ ' face.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey! Come on, the apologies can wait! We've got a  _wedding_  to plan!" Snow put his hand on Lightning's shoulder. "You  _are_  gonna allow it - right?"

Lightning put her hands on her hips and ducked her head, but she couldn't hide her smile as she chuckled at Snow, while Serah giggled blatantly.

"What?" Sazh asked.

"He said 'wedding,' Dad," Dajh provided helpfully.

"You don't waste any time, do ya?" Hope asked.

"Nooooo, I don't," Snow said shamelessly.

"That's right," Sazh sighed. "Just charge in, guns blazing!"

Shu gasped. "A wedding! Yes! Let's do it! I wanna see how it's done! Can we go, Chare? Please, please, please, please,  _pleeeeeeeaaaaaaase?_ "

Charon chuckled. "Of  _course_  we're going, Shu. We've listened to Snow ramble on about Serah so much that we're practically a part of this relationship too."

"Oh? I hope he's said good things," Serah said, crossing her arms.

"All good, I promise!" Snow waved his hands defensively.

Charon chuckled. "It's nice to finally meet the woman who can manage to keep Snow in line." Charon lowered his voice. "And the one who gave him hope even when it seemed like there was none left. Without the hope you gave him, I doubt the rest of us would've been able to go on."

Serah's smile grew wider. "It's nice to meet you…?"

"Charon."

"And I'm Shu! Oh! It's  _so_  nice to meet you in  _person!_  Without the whole crystal thing, of course. Can we be friends?! I wanna make more friends now that the world's saved and we're not fugitives anymore!"

Serah chuckled. "Of course we can be friends."

Snow leaned in close to Lightning while Serah was distracted. "I swear to you, I  _will_  make her happy."

Lightning chuckled. "I believe you," she said genuinely. "Congrats."

Rei walked up to Sai and held her arms out. He stepped forward and pulled her into a hug. "You really had me worried there for a while."

"I'm sorry things got a bit confusing. But I'm back. And Styx gave me a gift. I'm never letting you go now, you got that? You're stuck with us now, for however long we can last."

He chuckled. "Doesn't sound too bad, honestly."

She smiled and hugged him tighter.

Hidden deep within the crystal pillar where Ragnarok had disappeared were two crystals floating together within a large crystal sphere, rotated 180 degrees so that one of the was holding the other's hand with both of theirs.

 _When prayers turn to promises, not even fate can stand in their way_.

 _We held the light of hope in our hearts, and achieved the impossible. Now we live on, to greet a new dawn_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it! Oh my gods I finally found the time and inspiration to finish this story! I might end up doing an epilogue if ever I have an epiphany - which is likely to happen just randomly. I wanted to make a story where the events of the second game never interfered with the ending of this game, but it might not turn into a whole story since it's just an idea swirling in my brain without a plan.
> 
> Gosh, 'My Hands' by Leona Lewis is an amazing soundtrack and watching the ending cutscenes makes me so nostalgic. FF 13 is such a great game since it's long enough to see the character development. By the end of the game they are both the same and different people, Serah and Snow are able to get married, Sazh gets his son back, Lightning finally gets to apologize to Serah and admits that during their journey she came to respect Snow. Hope's moment when he realized that Vanille and Fang are gone really hits hard when you realize that, without the context of the second or third game, Hope expects that he might never see Vanille or Fang ever again because their crystal stasis would long outlive him - if they ever came out of crystal stasis again. He never got to say a formal goodbye to them. If they ever come back out of stasis, they'll be in a whole new world all over again, and who knows what it'll be like? But it won't have any of their new friends and family in it anymore - Fang and Vanille had just come to terms with the fact that they'd found a new family worth fighting for and now they have to go back into crystal stasis to let centuries pass and lose their family all over again. It's so bittersweet because they made their sacrifice because they were going to protect their new home and they saved an entire world when they had destroyed so many lives in the past; they're at peace despite the fact that they might never see their family again.
> 
> I gets the feels when I play this game, I really do.
> 
> Anyway, thanks to anyone who managed to stay with me this long, and stay tuned because I'll be started the second game soon enough.


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